Goblin Frost
by PuzzledPanda
Summary: A Labyrinth tale with a Dresden twist: Mab sends Harry Dresden to the Goblin Kingdom on a mysterious diplomatic mission, prompting the Goblin King and his Queen to tell him the story of all that occurred after Sarah rescued Toby.
1. Chapter 1

Note: This is primarily a Labyrinth story, but there are characters and settings from the Dresden Files novels - as well as a great deal of its mythology. This takes place after Cold Days, so beware of spoilers in later chapters!

Standard disclaimers apply: I do not own Labyrinth or the Dresden Files, although they both sort of own my heart.

 **Jareth and Sarah, Much Later (2014)**

Two figures wove their way through a tangle of alleys between buildings. One was a tall, dark man in a billowing duster, the other a small, but fierce blonde woman in a tactical jacket. A sensitive sort would know that they both exuded power, though different kinds of power - that it crackled around them like electricity.

The man motioned to his companion to stop at a particularly twisted and strange junction. "This is it," Harry Dresden said. "This is the Chicago entrance to the Labyrinth outside the Goblin City."

"Seriously, Dresden," Karrin Murphy said, "I would think you were putting me on...if I hadn't seen everything I've already seen. But goblins? Really?"

Harry waggled his eyebrows. "Just think - once upon a time you didn't even think werewolves were real."

Murphy rolled her eyes, but her expression quickly turned serious. "Anything involving the Fae is dangerous. Is this safe?"

"It's just a diplomatic mission, Murph," Harry said as he opened a Way into the Nevernever.

"But why haven't you met them before, if they're part of the Winter Court? Are you sure this isn't a trap?"

"Well, no," he admitted as he peered at the oddly orange sky through the shimmering opening. "But I don't think so. Mab and the Goblin King had a falling out a few hundred years ago, and he's only been back in her good graces for a couple of decades. Doesn't want to press his luck by visiting Arctis Tor too often. Plus, he's busy with his own...stuff."

Harry grunted as he and Murphy stepped through to a dusty hillside facing a daunting wall.

Murphy licked her lips. "So how exactly do we get in there?"

"Piece of cake," Dresden grinned. "As long as we follow the worm's directions. And well, failing that, pretty sure we've got diplomatic immunity."

The two travelers soon found themselves inside the castle past the vast maze.

"Sir Knight, Miss Murphy - follow me, if'n ye please," groused the squat dwarf before them.

He led them through a stone corridor to a surprisingly cozy looking study where a regal woman stood waiting, dark hair piled high upon her head. She wore a green silk dress that very nearly matched the color of her eyes, and she smiled kindly at her visitors, which made Murphy suspicious. She'd never encountered a Fae noble who was anything less than terrifying. This woman had an otherworldly beauty, but none of the menace she expected.

Sarah nodded at the dwarf, and said warmly, "Thank you, Hoggle, for escorting our guests. Harry Dresden, Winter Knight, and Karrin Murphy of the Aboveground - welcome to the Goblin Kingdom."

Harry bowed quickly, Murphy a beat behind. "We are honored, your highness."

Hoggle left with a nod to his queen, shutting the door behind him.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Sarah said as she motioned to a sitting area near the window. She deftly poured tea from the waiting pot with her gloved hands. "My husband will join us soon - he was suddenly called away."

"Nothing serious, I hope," Harry said.

"Oh, no. Just some goblin mischief." Sarah passed a cup to Murphy who eyed it with some suspicion. "It's only tea," she laughed. "Honestly, just tea - no strings attached. Though I can see from your reaction that you have had dealings with our kind before."

Murphy reluctantly accepted the cup. "Thank you."

"I buy this particular kind in your hometown actually," Sarah continued. "I never lost my taste for tea."

Harry's brow furrowed. "You were human."

Sarah handed Harry another cup. "It's not always a permanent state, as I'm sure you well know, Sir Knight."

Harry thought ruefully about the changes he had seen in his apprentice Molly after she became Winter Lady and sighed. "True."

A devilishly handsome man burst through the back entrance of the room. Tall and lithe, he wore a Regency style frock coat and had silver and gold hair swept back from his angular face. His uneven blue eyes narrowed as he shouted, "I swear, I'm going to bog the whole lot of them one day!"

"Darling," Sarah soothed, "Our company has arrived. Sir Knight, Miss Murphy - my husband, Jareth, the Goblin King."

"Your majesty," Harry said as he stood to bow.

Murphy followed suit, but as Jareth came closer, she failed to hold back a bark of laughter. Harry planted a quick elbow in her side, and whispered, "Murphy! Behave."

"But he, I mean look, Dresden, he looks just like…" she trailed off as the Goblin King strode toward them with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Pleased to meet you, Winter Knight," Jareth said as he dipped his head in acknowledgment. "I do hope your manners are better than those of your companion."

Sarah laughed. "Pay him no mind. I've told Jareth a hundred times that the resemblance is uncanny, but he assures me it's just a coincidence."

"Ah, yes," Jareth breezed, "The 'rock star' again. No relation. We had a rather heated discussion about that once, but I was never Aboveground in 1946, let alone fathering mortals in England."

"I wasn't jealous, darling," the Goblin Queen purred, "I was merely curious. He does bear a striking resemblance to you."

"I suppose one of my brothers could have, ah - well, perhaps not. Never mind all that." He flopped casually across the end of the small sofa next to his wife. "Shall we get to business, Sir Knight?"

"Sure," Harry said. "Though, to be honest, I'm not 100% sure what our business is."

"No?" Jareth asked. "That is perplexing, indeed. For I was led to believe it was quite important."

"I'm not saying it's unimportant," Harry frowned, "I just don't know what it is, exactly."

"What were you told, Sir Knight, when you were sent here?" Sarah asked before her husband could interject.

"Mab just said that I was needed urgently in the Goblin Kingdom, on a diplomatic matter."

"Mab herself?" Sarah asked, warily.

"Yes, though her Frosty Majesty didn't elaborate. She just said that everything would be clear once I got here. And considering her idea of 'diplomacy,' I wasn't sure what I would find."

"You made it seem a little more straightforward than that when you convinced me to come with you," Murphy growled.

"Well, you were pretty suspicious when I suggested it," Harry grinned.

"I came unarmed, Dresden!"

"Mmm," Jareth hummed in irritation. "Mab's taste for intrigue remains unchanged, it seems."

Sarah sighed. "So it seems, my love." Turning to Harry, she continued, "We only received a missive from Arctis Tor telling us to expect the new Winter Knight and a companion to discuss a diplomatic matter, nothing more."

"I've no taste for her game-playing," Jareth said. "But she is bound as all Fae are. She never lies…"

"...But she never tells the whole truth, either," Harry finished.

"It seems it's up to us to discover this 'diplomatic matter' ourselves," Sarah said. "I've never been one to shrink from a challenge."

"Too true," Jareth said with a wolfish grin. Sarah smiled back, only slightly less wolfishly, to Murphy's great suspicion.

"What do you know of us, of the Underground?" Sarah asked.

"Almost nothing," Harry admitted. "I know that the Goblin Kingdom is sort of its own sovereign nation in the Nevernever, but I don't know the particulars, and I had barely heard of the Goblin King and Queen before."

"And you, Miss Murphy? Have you any knowledge of us or the Underground?"

"My friend's kid is obsessed with a web series called 'The Goblin King,'" Murphy said. "But that's about it."

Sarah laughter rang out, mischievous and genuine. "The internet is a wonderful tool for spreading the old superstitions."

"You know about that?" Murphy asked, genuinely shocked.

"I wrote it," Sarah said, her eyes sparkling.

"What's a web series?" Harry asked.

"Ah, yes. Of course, Sir Knight, I had forgotten that as a wizard you cause...problems with computers," Sarah said, fanning her hands out in a gestural explosion.

"It's like a TV show on the internet," Murphy said. "The kids love it. I saw so many King Garetts and Lady Susans trick or treating last Halloween…" Murphy slapped her head as she looked at the magnificent Fae royals in front of her. "How much of it is true?"

"It's dramatized, of course - sanitized in some respects - but," Sarah admitted with a sly grin, "Most of it is true."

"Wow, Murph," Harry laughed. "I didn't know you were a Goblin expert."

Murphy rolled her eyes. "I've only seen a few episodes with the kids."

"Still, I doubt our creative endeavors are the true heart of Mab's intent," Sarah said, serious once more. "If you are truly unfamiliar with our tale, perhaps we should start at the beginning, and see where our interests collide."

Harry nodded his assent.

"As our story actually begins with your story," Sarah turned to her husband, "Perhaps we can begin there, my love."

Jareth smiled strangely and began...


	2. Chapter 2

**Jareth, Long Ago**

"Approach me," Queen Mab said, her magnificence only magnified by her fury.

Jareth felt a shiver go down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold in the great hall of Arctis Tor. The chamber was filled nearly to capacity with creatures of all sorts - Winter Court denizens, one and all, their hungry eyes passing over him with disdain and bloodlust.

No one liked to miss an execution.

Jareth approached the black ice dais upon which his sovereign stood. He knew better than to show his fear in such a den of predators, let alone before his queen, but strode toward her proudly, with his head held high.

"You have thwarted me in a matter most dire, Lord Jareth," Mab spat. "You have no right to interfere in my choice of Winter Knight - you, of all people who know what we fight beyond the Outer Gates! Foolish boy! You nearly tipped the balance."

Jareth swallowed, as he now saw a merciful death would not be his this day.

Mab continued, "Misplaced compassion has no place in my court, but I have decided to show some myself today." The Fae creatures gasped in unison, then began to grumble. Perhaps they would be denied bloodshed after all. A single harsh look from Mab silenced the crowd again.

"I have decided that death is too delicious a prize for you, Jareth. I believe that you will be better punished by...banishment."

Jareth tried and failed to keep a neutral mask over the astonishment he now felt.

"You will leave Arctis Tor today, and take yourself to the edge of the Nevernever, to that desolate land called Underground. There, perhaps the goblins will have compassion for you...though I very much doubt it." Mab smiled a predator's smile - all fangs, no mercy. "There you shall stay amongst the lost and lonely in that arid and hostile land, with no contact from any of your own kind - save a single messenger I appoint, to remind you always of what you have lost.

"There you shall stay...forever."

Forever, not long at all, Jareth thought with bitter resignation.

His queen understood cruelty better than most.

The first hundred years had been the worst, but in time Jareth came to appreciate his unwanted home, and the goblins certainly appreciated him. Tiring of chaos, they appointed him ruler, and though he never understood his subjects' fascination with poultry, he did feel an odd affection for them. Goblins spent more time Above than most Fae creatures, and Jareth learned all of their passages and favorite Ways. His magic only grew over time, and when he discovered he could change into an owl, he spent almost as much time perched in trees observing humans as his goblins spent vexing them.

Mortals were fascinating, contradictory things, so he was not surprised one night to hear a woman Above cry out in exasperation, "Oh, you horrible child! I wish the goblins would come and take you away...right now!"

"Well," he said with a slow smile to the creatures clustered around his throne. "She did ask nicely. Perhaps we could...humor her?"

The goblins laughed and disappeared, one by one. They knew merry sport when it presented itself, and this promised to be the best kind.

A tradition was born and wished away human children came to the Underground to join the other creatures who lived there. The land developed a reputation as a haven of sorts: the lost, the shunned, the misunderstood - all were welcome. Though many Underground citizens were monstrous, there was a strange harmony among them.

Eventually, Jareth used his magic to build the labyrinth, which served both as a test to mortals foolish enough to wish away their kin, and as a security measure for the Underground itself. Over time, the labyrinth became very powerful, and its magic became independent of both Jareth and the goblins who maintained it.

Over centuries Jareth came to love the Underground, and though he was mainly content, Mab had not lied. He met no other Fae of his kind, save Lady Lenora, his cousin, who was sent from Arctis Tor once every cycle to maintain his punishment.

Jareth was sometimes bored, and often lonely. He made the best of his life in exile, but he never stopped longing for his own kind, or the cold of winter, which the dusty Underground never experienced.

The Above kept in constant flux, and superstition eventually faded from much of the world. Babes were wished away less and less often, and Jareth spent more time observing as an owl again. One day he spotted a dark-haired girl sitting under a tree in a park, reciting the Lady of Shalott to herself. She fairly glowed with magic - so bright he averted his eyes until they adjusted to her radiance. He had never seen a mortal like her before - had never dreamt they could have such power.

She, he decided, would be very interesting to watch.

Very interesting, indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sarah, Before (January 1979)**

Sarah always remembered her eighth birthday fondly, though she did not understand its significance for many years.

Sarah's mother told her excited daughter that since she was getting so grown-up, she could have a grown-up outing. Together they decided to visit a nearby tea shop that had intrigued Sarah ever since it opened when she was in kindergarten.

"It smells so good when you walk by it, Mom - like peaches and something else, some smell I don't know...but I like it," Sarah giggled to her mother.

Being more of a coffee drinker, Linda Williams decided it must be the odor of the tea itself. Still, a "grown-up" tea party was precisely the sort of thing that would appeal to Sarah, and it was a far more reasonable request than many children would make. Then again, Linda always knew her daughter was different. She was smart, of course - but she was also sensitive - maybe too sensitive. She had difficulty making friends at school and spent most of her free time with her head buried in a book.

The night before their planned visit a cold front swept through, leaving behind a few inches of powdery snow. The day dawned chilly and clear; Sarah always enjoyed the way ice on the tree outside her bedroom sparkled in the muted winter sunlight after a light snow. It made her think of the enormous jar of silver glitter they used in the art room at school.

It was the exact sort of January day Sarah loved best, and knowing it was her birthday made it all the better.

The tea shop simply felt odd inside, Linda Williams decided, but she could not put her finger on exactly why that was. It had an interior filled with mismatched furniture, mostly made of dark wood, and there were a significant number of strangely carved columns stretching from floor to ceiling but placed at seemingly random intervals. Linda shrugged and chalked it up to some bizarre decorator's quirk, but quickly looked down at Sarah as she tugged her hand for attention.

"I like this place," she intoned as solemnly as a newly eight-year-old girl can.

"Glad to hear it," Linda smiled, though she wasn't sure what Sarah saw in the place.

Sarah let go of her mother's hand and dashed toward the counter, with its glass case of pastries and cookies. "What should I order, Mama?" she said, her excitement evident as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"I don't really know," her mother said wryly. "Let's ask what's best."

The woman behind the counter was a grandmotherly sort with kind eyes. "Well," the woman said with a smile, "What's your favorite kind of tea, young miss?"

"I don't know," Sarah said shyly. "I've never had any before. But it's my birthday, and it's good to try new things."

The woman's smile widened. "Your birthday, eh? I know just the thing…" She turned to pull down a silver canister from the wall of dark wood shelving behind her. "A pot of Darjeeling to share with your mum, and a bit of peach cream cake to celebrate the momentous occasion."

"Thanks!" Sarah said, her joy almost palpable.

"That does sound great," Linda said with a smile of her own as she handed over some cash. "Thanks for your help - I had no idea even where to start."

"It's my pleasure, dearie," the older woman said. "We rarely see her sort of enthusiasm around here. Sit anywhere you like - I'll bring it out when your tea's ready."

"Okay, kiddo - which spot looks good to you?" Linda asked.

"I liked that little sofa by the window," Sarah pointed in its general direction, "But oh! There are two ladies there now."

Linda's gaze followed Sarah's outstretched arm, and then her mouth fell open in shock. "Eleanor? Is that really you?"

Sarah looked in confusion from her mom to the smiling woman rising from the sofa. She was tall and almost hypnotically beautiful, with honey-colored hair and eyes as blue as the clear winter sky visible through the window behind her. Her companion was equally lovely, but there was something strange about her. She had a wild mass of coppery curls framing her face, and though Sarah was sure she imagined it, she thought for a peculiar second that she had golden eyes with elongated pupils like a cat. When she blinked, her eyes were normal and warmly brown. This other woman smiled oddly down at Sarah, and again, for just one moment she could have sworn that her teeth were pointed and very dangerous looking. Sarah shook her head. That was impossible, of course.

"Linda Williams! Such a pleasure to see you again!" The first woman exclaimed. "And my goodness, Sarah - you've gotten so big. You're practically a grown-up now."

Sarah tried to place the woman, but though she seemed familiar she couldn't remember from where. "It's my eighth birthday today."

"I know," the woman purred. "Happy birthday, little one."

"Sarah," Linda said, "This is Eleanor, your long-absent godmother. I don't think you've seen her since you were two - when we worked together back in New York."

"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed, revelation dawning. "You're the Eleanor who writes me letters!"

"I'm afraid I have been very remiss in my duties.," she smiled up at Linda, then down at Sarah. "But I didn't want you to forget me, so I wrote."

"Sarah has always loved your letters," Linda said.

"I'm glad of it," Eleanor said. "And I have greatly enjoyed the replies I've started to receive in return."

Sarah blushed. "I'm glad, too."

"Please do join us," Eleanor said. "This is Lea, a very old friend. We grew up together, back home."

The strikingly beautiful stranger held out a hand for Linda to shake. "Charmed, I'm sure."

Sarah instinctively put her hands behind her back. She did not trust this new woman for some reason and was very relieved when she merely nodded at her in greeting.

"This is such a nice surprise," Linda said. "When did you get back over here?"

"We only got in last night," Eleanor said. "But I meant to contact you today."

Linda laughed. "It must be fate, then. Sarah picked this as her birthday outing this year."

"Did she?" Lea asked with surprise, her eyes falling on the uncomfortable girl once again.

"She did. She has been fascinated with this place since the day it opened."

"Of course she has," Eleanor said, as though a little girl's fascination with a slightly strange tea shop was the most understandable thing in the world.

Linda and Eleanor chatted amiably, with Lea adding little to the conversation. Sarah sat, mostly silent, looking out the window to avoid Lea's uncanny gaze - which seemed to drift back to the girl again and again. Sarah began to wish she'd brought a book with her, and resolved to be more prepared in the future.

Their tea and cake appeared soon enough, and Eleanor smoothly took over hostess duties. She poured out tea for Sarah first, adding both milk and sugar.

"I think you'll like it this way, little one," she said, and after one taste Sarah knew she was right.

After they'd finished the last crumb of cake, Linda asked, "So what brings you back, Eleanor? Starring in every major West End production becoming a bore?'

"In a way, yes," Eleanor averred, "But in a way, no. I've decided to retire from the stage and return to my art, so Lea and I are here to look for a suitable property - something with a studio for my painting."

"Oh, lovely! I know just the person who could help…" Linda began, but Eleanor cut her off.

"More than enough time for that later," she said. "I want to give the birthday girl her present."

"You brought me a present?" Sarah asked with some surprise.

"I did know it was your birthday, and I happened to have it with me, so…" Eleanor smiled at the girl. "I understand you like fairy tales."

"I love fairy tales," Sarah stated seriously.

"Then I think you will love this." She presented a slim, red volume to the girl.

"'The Lab...' - how do you pronounce this?" Sarah asked, shyly.

"'The Labyrinth.' It's a kind of maze."

Lea raised her eyebrows at her friend but remained silent - though she could not contain the smug grin that grew on her face.

Eleanor continued, "It's the story of a special, brave girl on an adventure in the Goblin Kingdom."

Sarah popped up from her seat and flung her arms around Eleanor. "Thank you! I love it already."

Linda looked quizzically at the burst of affection from her usually staid daughter but decided she was just overly excited from the caffeine in her tea.

"I have a great idea," Linda said. "Robert and I are supposed to go to an art opening this evening. Would you both like to join us? It would be a great opportunity for you to meet some of the art community around here, Eleanor."

"I would love to, thank you - but I don't think that Lea will be able to join us this evening."

"That's true," Lea said. "I'm afraid I'm expected elsewhere."

"I think I'd better call Robert to warn him - I think I saw a pay phone in the back…" Linda headed toward the restrooms.

"Please excuse me, too," Sarah said as she headed to look at a bookshelf near the counter.

"She is a well-mannered pup," Lea purred once she was out of earshot. "Well-mannered and strong. And she practically illuminates the entire room with her magic!"

"She is very special," Eleanor agreed.

"But I know a dangerous game when I see one, and you are playing at a very dangerous game indeed. 'The Labyrinth'? Do you truly think our queen will not notice? What can you be thinking, Eleanor!"

"I am breaking no rule. She is not of his kind."

"Not yet," Lea huffed.

"Our queen is not the only one who can exploit a loophole, my lovely Leanansidhe. And she knows that."

Lea sniffed but did not disagree. She turned her feral gaze toward the pretty young girl at the bookshelf. "She would make a fine hound, though - wouldn't she? No lap poodle she! No, a fine hound for hunting…"

"Lea," Eleanor said, a threat evident in her tone. "Do not even joke about such things."

Lea smiled with an explicit lack of apology. "She would be better off as one of my hounds, should Mab disagree with your tactics."

Eleanor sighed. "The story is about a girl with a little brother and a wicked step-mother. Sarah is an only child, and her parents seem happy enough together. It's just a little clue, not an instruction manual."

"Things change," Lea said and left it at that.

Things did change, of course. Within just a few short years, Linda and Robert had divorced. Robert remarried when Sarah was twelve, and soon after that Sarah had a half-brother named Toby, who was often left in her care. But one wish on one rainy night changed everything...


	4. Chapter 4

**Sarah, After (September 1986) - Part 1**

Sarah woke up the day after her adventure in the Labyrinth feeling strangely antsy. She would have believed it all a vivid dream except for the fact that the poet shirt and jeans she had been wearing were covered in dust and smelled like magic.

"It was all real," she whispered, peering into her hamper. Then, after a moment of panic, she ran to check on Toby, who was oddly still asleep.

"It's strange," Karen said, shaking her head down at his crib. "You'd think he was up all night, but he slept like an angel after we got home."

Sarah made a noncommittal noise in response. The truth was far worse than that, after all. "Is he okay?"

"I think so, Sarah - why? Did he have a temperature or anything last night?"

"No, but I...he was, I don't know - listless?" Sarah fibbed. "I just wanted to make sure he wasn't getting sick or anything."

Karen felt Toby's forehead. "I think he's just tuckered out. No need to worry." She seemed pleased with Sarah's concern for the boy.

"Okay, good," Sarah said. "I'm just going to grab some breakfast. Do you need me to watch him this morning while you go to the store?"

Karen tried but failed to hide her shock completely. "That would be lovely, Sarah - thank you."

Sarah figured Toby would be safer with her, anyway. She didn't think the Goblin King would try to take him again - she'd won fair and square, after all - but he had seemed so hurt and angry at the end. She couldn't be sure. She knew that magic was real now, and that made anything seem possible. She wasn't about to let her guard down.

She went down to the kitchen and tried to ignore the strange physical sensations that started to creep into her awareness. Her hands and feet were tingling, and she felt a little light-headed. She poured a bowl of cereal, and efficiently sliced a banana over it. She hoped that these mundane actions would soothe her, but everything was too overwhelming. She was hungry, but couldn't bear to eat the increasingly soggy bowl of cereal. The sunlight filtering in from the kitchen window was at once too bright and somehow muffled, as though it were not quite real.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Sarah suddenly felt as though she might fly apart at any second. She stumbled into the downstairs hallway, her hand trailing along the wall as though it could steady her.

"Daddy?" she called. "Karen? I...I don't feel quite right…"

Sarah collapsed in a heap at the foot of the stairs just as her father came out of his study. He rushed forward, a single touch confirming her fever. "Karen! Call an ambulance - Sarah's burning up!"

"I need Eleanor, please," Sarah murmured in her stupor. "Please, just find Eleanor."

Karen was already dialing the phone when Robert shouted, "Call Eleanor right after - have her meet us at the hospital!"

"I came as quickly as I could," Eleanor said from the door of Sarah's hospital room.

Robert looked up from his shivering daughter, his face drawn with worry. "Thank you so much, Eleanor. She's delirious, so I don't think she knows what she's saying, but she keeps asking for you."

"I would do anything for Sarah. She is as important to me as my own kin, Robert - I hope you know that."

Robert nodded bleakly, his gaze returning to the girl in the narrow bed. She twitched and trembled, seemingly unaware of the conversation. "They don't know what's wrong with her," he whispered. "No idea at all. And the strangest thing - every piece of equipment they brought in here has shorted out or something, even the heart monitor. Must be faulty wiring or something…"

Eleanor narrowed her eyes and suddenly understood what was happening, at least partially. Thinking quickly, she asked, "Have you called Linda? I know it may seem that she doesn't care, but even she would want to know that her only child is ill."

"Oh!" Robert gulped. In his panic, it truly had never occurred to him to contact his ex-wife. "I'll go track down a phone right now. I...I don't know what I was thinking."

Eleanor smiled softly. "Very understandable under the circumstances. You go on, Sarah will be perfectly safe with me."

"Thank you," Robert said as he headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

"Now, Sarah," Eleanor sighed as soon as they were alone. "What is going on here?" She touched the poor girl's hand and confirmed her suspicions. Magic was coursing unbidden through her system, far more than was safe. It was as though a dam had burst, and the entirety of her potential had come forward at once, becoming a tsunami of energy that even someone with years of training could not control. Eleanor rubbed her hands quickly down Sarah's shoulders and arms, dissipating the crackling energy as best she could.

Sarah came to then and looked at Eleanor with glassy eyes. "There's something wrong with me," she rasped.

"Indeed, child. What has happened?"

"I went somewhere...else," Sarah gasped. "It was so weird. There was glitter everywhere. Hoggle is my friend now - do you know Hoggle?"

Eleanor could see how Sarah struggled against the fever. "I do not, but if he is your friend I'm sure he is worthy."

"Well, he tricked me," Sarah's brow furrowed. "But he sort of had to? He won't trick me anymore now, I think…"

"What else happened?"

"Um...fighting. I walked a long way. There was so much glitter. Oh! Goblins. Lots of those. And I know he's mad, he's so mad at me. But please don't let him send me to the bog! I didn't mean it, Eleanor. I didn't mean to make him so mad…"

"Who, Sarah? Hoggle?"

"No, no…" Sarah trailed off, the exertion overwhelming her.

Eleanor closed her eyes in exasperation as her suspicions morphed into understanding. Though it pained her to leave Sarah in such a state, she needed answers quickly, and she suddenly knew where to look. She sighed and resigned herself to another awkward conversation.

Eleanor disappeared from Sarah's hospital room in a whirlwind of glitter, only to reappear in the Goblin King's throne room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Jareth, After (September 1986)**

Eleanor disappeared from Sarah's hospital room in a whirlwind of glitter, only to reappear in the Goblin King's throne room. It was suspiciously empty of goblins, though the Goblin King himself was draped across his stone throne, looking severely peevish and somewhat shocked at the unexpected arrival.

"What have you done, Jareth?" she demanded.

"Cousin Lenora," he said, narrowing his eyes. "It is not yet time for your annual visit, I think?"

"You know as well as I that I have been coming and going as I please for centuries now, but that isn't the point. What did you do to her?"

"To whom, dear cousin?" Jareth seemed genuinely confused.

"To Sarah, of course!"

"What do you know of Sarah?" he asked as he rose from his throne. His expression moved from shock to anger to concern before he could school it back into a neutral gaze.

"Much more than you, child," Lenora sighed. "All of my work! Spoiled!"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"She wasn't ready, Jareth! Her magic hadn't even begun to manifest, and now the poor child is terribly ill -"

"Sarah is ill? Take me to her at once!" Jareth thundered imperiously.

"That would not be wise, cousin." Jareth opened his mouth to interject, but Lenora motioned for him to stop. "Please, Jareth - tell me the truth of what occurred here. The girl was practically delirious with fever, and I couldn't make sense of her rambling, but I did hear her say something about goblins and bogs...and glitter, Jareth," She shook her head. "So I have an idea of what may have happened, but not the particulars. I ask again: What did you do?"

Jareth gave her a steely look, then sauntered back to his throne. "She wished, cousin. I was duty bound to answer."

"She wished Toby away?" Lenora closed her eyes in regretful understanding. "I knew how unhappy Sarah was, but I never thought she was selfish enough to do that."

Jareth looked off into the distance. "She did regret it, immediately. I think she didn't quite believe it would work - that it was just another wild fancy like the other poems and plays she recites in the park."

Lenora's face darkened, her nostrils flared. "And how exactly do you know her habits, dear cousin?"

"I have been watching her for some time," Jareth admitted softly, almost wistfully. "She...shines so. I could not help but notice."

Lenora sighed again. "I understand. Sarah is very special, and truth be told, I was planning...an introduction - in the future. But no matter. What's done is done. Perhaps it is better this way. But I still must know what happened if I am to help the child."

"She chose to run my labyrinth - in fact, my cousin, she defeated it," Jareth said dryly, producing a crystal with a flick of his gloved hand. "She turned loyal subjects into traitors, defeated my labyrinth, laid siege to the Goblin City, and when I offered her my heart, she left and went home with the babe."

"Oh, Jareth - it was far too soon for that. She is by human reckoning still a child, and perhaps a little immature even for her age."

"I do see that now," Jareth said quietly, staring into his crystal. "And I fear I have spent too much time amongst my subjects to make myself properly understood without...menace. But it is too late. She is gone." He flicked his wrist once more, and the crystal disappeared.

"Still, none of this explains why she is ill now. I think it's possible that such an intense exposure to magic could have catalyzed her powers and awakened them rather more suddenly than most mortals experience, but even that wouldn't fully explain the delirium." Lenora tapped a slender white finger against her cheek as she thought. "Did she eat anything while she was here?"

Jareth hesitated. "I may have sent her a peach."

Lenora's ire was unmistakable. "You may have sent her a peach? Jareth! Goblin fruit? What were you thinking?"

"I never thought she would win, Lenora - not really. No one ever does!"

"So you decided to bond her to this place." Lenora shook her head angrily. "Impulsive and irresponsible, Jareth!"

"She was meant to forget her quest, and there would have been no issue if she had. She would be here, with me, as she ought." Despite his haughty tone, Jareth could not quite meet his cousin's gaze.

Lenora approached the Goblin King's throne and stretched out her hand. "Come, Jareth. We must fix this."

Jareth took his cousin's hand as he rose. "I know," he said with resignation.

Lenora led him through a dark stone corridor to his study and took a seat in front of a rather messy desk. "I meant for Sarah to have a choice," she said sternly. "I have not even begun to introduce her to our ways. She could not have known the significance of the fruit."

"No," he said as he sat opposite. He produced another crystal in his gloved hand and looked at the feverish dark-haired girl within. "I don't think she could have. But I never meant to harm her, cousin - I swear it. I would take it all back if I could."

Lenora shrugged. "What's said is said."

"Indeed." The crystal disappeared with a flick of his wrist.

"Is there anything else?" Lenora eyed her cousin with suspicion. "The peach explains her illness well enough, but I still feel you may have...omitted some details?"

"Ah, well," Jareth shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "We danced together. And I sang to her."

Lenora covered her face with her hands. "Oh, Jareth. Truly?"

Jareth's silence was confirmation enough.

"Bonded, Fae-marked, and claimed, then. That's archaic, even by Fae standards, Jareth."

"How was I to know that?" he hissed.

"But not unbreakable." Lenora's long fingers tapped along the edge of the desk as she thought. "You said she refused you?"

"She did."

"I don't think the peach would have made her quite so ill if she had."

A flicker of unbidden hope passed quickly over Jareth's face. "Oh?"

"What exactly did you say to her, and what exactly did she say in return?"

"'Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave...'"

Lenora laughed aloud. "There's no way she understood that."

"She understood well enough to refuse me!"

"But what did she say, exactly?"

"She said I had no power over her."

"And indeed you do not. Wait? Did she say the whole speech?"

"What?"

"The whole speech from her book? 'Through dangers untold' and so forth?"

"She did," he said sullenly.

Lenora laughed again. "She did not refuse you, Jareth. She declared herself your equal."

Jareth looked very confused. "But...she went home."

"She cannot yet travel freely between worlds. You sent her home."

"Well, yes. Because she won and she refused me!"

"What a terrible muddle this is," Lenora chuckled.

Jareth sighed. "I'm so glad you find humor in my humiliation, cousin."

"I think you will see the humor, too - in time." Lenora stretched her hands across the desk and took Jareth's gloved hands in her own. "Unwittingly or no, by the old ways, Sarah has made a bargain to rule at your side. But not yet. She is not ready.

"We must give Sarah time, Jareth."

"Yes." Jareth gave his cousin's hands a firm squeeze then released them. "Time, then. I cannot rearrange it in this case. I cannot move it forward or back. I can only...watch it pass."

"I will watch over her for you," Lenora said softly. "I will keep her safe, and ready her for her return. I'm sure she doesn't understand what truly happened here, or what it means. But Sarah is as lonely as you, and you are very nearly the child she is. I think you will be well-matched."

Jareth smirked. "I never doubted that."

Lenora smiled back. "First we must make her well. She will need goblin fruit regularly from now on…"

"Of course. I shall send fruit daily."

"And I must ask a boon, Goblin King."

"So formal, cousin? What shall it be?"

"I assume you have granted Sarah the power to communicate with you?"

"And her traitorous friends, yes. I have granted her access to the mirrors. Though to speak with me, she need only wish it so."

"Then I would ask that you wait for her to contact you, no matter how long she takes."

Jareth looked displeased. "I will strike your bargain if you do a service for me." He produced a crystal. "Sarah gave a ring to the Wiseman for payment. I would like to replace it." With a flick of his wrist, the crystal became a delicate silver ring set with a single emerald, its filigree design echoing the horned shape of Jareth's pendant.

Lenora took the ring from him. "It's enchanted."

"She will not see it for what it truly is until she is ready to do so. And it should help to stabilize her magic until she can control it on her own."

"I will do as you ask. We have a bargain then?"

"Agreed."

Lenora flicked her wrist and a pear appeared. "Fruit she must have - although I think she will not welcome a peach quite yet," she said wryly. "I take my leave of you, cousin. I know you will not refrain from watching her through your crystals, but remember our agreement."

"Have I ever broken a true bargain?" Jareth asked testily, but there was no response other than a shower of glitter as she disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sarah, After (September 1986) - Part 2**

Lenora reappeared in Sarah's hospital room. She once again soothed the girl by dissipating the magical energy pouring from her body.

"Eleanor?" Sarah croaked. "Did you disappear for a second?"

"I did. And we're going to have a long talk about that when you're feeling better."

Sarah blinked in confusion. "Is that a pear?"

"For you, dear child. I think you'll feel better if you eat it."

Sarah accepted the fruit, while fuzzily thinking that it was all a little strange. She took a hesitant bite. It was the most delicious pear she had ever eaten. Almost as soon as she had swallowed the first mouthful, her stomach unclenched. "Oh, Eleanor! This is perfect."

Lenora smiled a little sadly. "I have something else for you, too." She handed the silver ring to Sarah, who immediately slipped it on.

"I thought this was lost forever," she whispered. "How did you get it?"

"That's a tale for another day, as well. How are you feeling now?"

"I feel so much better."

Lenora could see that her fever had broken immediately. Between the fruit and the ring, the crisis had passed for the moment, though her work was only beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sarah, After (September 1986) - Part 3**

Sarah returned home from the hospital after only one day, her recovery nearly instantaneous - and a total relief to the doctors on staff, who had no idea why she had become so ill or recovered so suddenly. The administrators were also relieved not to lose any more sensitive medical equipment. All tests had proven inconclusive; no one could find any cause for her fever, so Sarah was released after a day of observation.

The morning she'd arrived home, she'd gone straight to her room where she found a large pink apple placed prominently on her nightstand. Oddly, it didn't seem out of place. Somehow she just knew it was for her, and that it was important. She bit into it immediately, almost groaning at its intense flavor. Much like the pear Eleanor had given her in the hospital, this apple was the best Sarah had ever tasted.

She finished it quickly, greedily, then tossed the core into her bedroom wastebasket. She never noticed that it disappeared before it hit bottom, but did observe that she felt strangely content after eating it.

Her father decided it would be best for her to stay home from school for a few days. "Just because they couldn't figure out what was wrong doesn't mean you're completely out of the woods, kiddo," he'd said.

Sarah stayed mostly in her room after that. She said she was tired and needed to rest, but she was just thinking. She no longer felt ill - that much was obvious - but she still didn't feel quite right. She was agitated and anxious, and her hands still tingled some of the time. Strange energy crashed through her in waves, though she didn't have a name for it.

She couldn't put the labyrinth out of her thoughts. She wondered about her new friends and hoped the Goblin King hadn't punished them for helping her. She thought about all of the strange - and sometimes dangerous - creatures she'd met. And her thoughts returned again and again to the king himself - his wicked smile in the tunnels before he'd set the cleaners on her and the way he'd looked at her as they danced. She tried not to remember how stricken he'd looked in the Escher room, but that haunted her, too.

Sarah wondered how much of the little red book was true. The Goblin King's challenge had made her recognize that Toby was more than just a crying burden to her - that she truly loved her brother - but he was supposed to be the villain! But was he? If things were not always as they seemed in the labyrinth, was Jareth one of those things? It was all so confusing.

That night Sarah dreamt she was sitting at an elaborately set table at the center of the hedge maze in the labyrinth, drinking tea from a delicate rose print china cup. It was a beautiful autumn day, crisp and sunny, with just a light breeze - a perfect day for a late-season picnic. She sat staring at the empty place setting across from her. Someone was supposed to be there with her, but she couldn't remember who, exactly. Was it Sir Didymus? She wondered. No, he would bring Ludo with him, and there would be two extra place settings, of course. Hoggle, then? No, that wasn't quite right, either. She reached for a little sandwich from the tray in front of her and noticed that her mother's ring, the one she had given to the Wiseman, didn't look quite right. It was silver instead of gold and had a green stone instead of a red one. Huh, she thought. I don't think Eleanor gave me the same ring after all. Where did this one come from? And who was supposed to be sitting across from her at this table?

Sarah remembered the dream hazily when she woke up, but when she studied her hand in the low morning light, her ring looked exactly like the one her mother had given her. Sarah shrugged. Just a weird dream, she thought.

That afternoon Sarah went down to the kitchen for a glass of water when she noticed a small bunch of red grapes on the end of the counter. Once again she felt a strange sense of ownership. She knew the grapes were for her, though she couldn't have said why if anyone had asked.

Just then, Karen came in through the garage door carrying two bags of groceries.

"How are you feeling today, Sarah?" Karen asked, about to plop one of the heavy bags right on top of the grapes.

"Wait, you're going to squish my…" Sarah began, but Karen had already moved the bag further over, away from the grapes. She'd done it automatically, without taking her eyes off Sarah.

"Squish what?" Karen asked.

"Uh, nothing, I guess," Sarah shrugged. It was obvious Karen never saw the grapes. "I'm fine, though. I'd like to go back to school, actually."

"Your father thinks you need a few more days."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine. And I don't want to fall behind in my classes."

Karen sighed. "Get your assignments from a friend, Sarah. I don't think your dad will change his mind."

Sarah snatched up the possibly invisible grapes and headed to her dad's home office to call her best friend, Mellie. She hadn't talked to her since before her brief illness (or more importantly, her adventure in the Goblin Kingdom), and she wouldn't get any privacy on the kitchen phone with Karen hovering in the background. She dialed Mellie's number, but as soon as her friend answered, Sarah knew she couldn't tell her anything that had happened.

Mellie was her best friend, but she would never believe a word of it.

Sarah mostly just listened as Mellie happily assured her that she would bring all of her assignments later, and filled her in on missed sophomore gossip.

"I was so worried about you," Mellie confessed a bit later. "I saw the ambulance go by, and when I asked Mrs. Jenkins what happened, she said it was you, and I really freaked out. I'm just so glad you're okay."

"Me, too," Sarah said, though she secretly wondered if she was okay after all.

Mellie paused. "Is there something else? Something you're not telling me?"

Sarah sighed, picking at the remaining grapes. Mellie had always been very perceptive. She thought as quickly as she could. What could she tell her friend that was true, without sounding completely bonkers? "The day before I got sick, I…sort of met a guy?"

"Ooh, you met a boy! Why didn't you say, you sly dog?" Mellie laughed.

"Well, he's not from around here, and I'm sure I'll never see him again. It's just that I sort of misunderstood him? And I made him mad. Like super mad, Mellie. I think I really hurt his feelings, and I never meant to do that."

"Well, why are you so worried about it if you'll never see this guy again?"

"I...I don't know. It's just that Jar- uh, Gerald," She quickly covered, "Is kind of an important person, and not somebody…somebody who..." Sarah floundered in her frustration.

Mellie giggled. "Sarah and Gerald sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S…"

"Shut up! It wasn't like that!" Sarah laughed. But she wondered for a second if it was maybe precisely like that.

Lenora had come to visit the next day, a Tuesday. She suggested a walk, and Sarah, who had been cooped up in her room for too long, enthusiastically agreed. They went directly to the park, walking mostly in silence.

Pausing on the bridge, Lenora said, "We need to talk about some difficult things, Sarah. But first I want you to tell me exactly what happened Friday night."

Sarah only hazily remembered what she had said while so feverish in the hospital, and wasn't sure if she should be honest. She wanted so badly to trust someone with her secret, and Eleanor had always been so kind to her, but she knew that she would sound like she was making it up. Sarah rested her hands on the railing and sighed.

"Perhaps it would be easier if I started," Eleanor said, sensing Sarah's reluctance. "You don't know whether you can trust me because what happened seems unbelievable. You traveled to another place where magic is real, yes?"

Stunned, Sarah stammered, "Yes!"

"Magic is real here, too - just rare, and far better hidden."

"Really?"

"Yes, and you're filled with it. Your magic is much stronger than most humans, even very powerful wizards. Some will see you as a danger," Lenora sighed. "But I will keep you safe."

"Thank you," Sarah whispered. "I never thought anyone would believe me."

"Your mother has a little magic, too. That's why I was drawn to her originally."

"Mom can do magic?"

"Her powers are very modest and mostly instinctual - a sort of mild glamour magic she uses to enhance her acting. It's doubtful she would have exhibited much more even with training, but she never attracted the attention of the White Council, so we'll never really know."

"Glamour? Like Faerie glamour?"

"Something like that, yes." Lenora smiled wryly.

Sarah looked at her godmother with just a hint of suspicion. "Eleanor...are you human?"

Lenora looked back with an eyebrow raised. Shrewd girl! "What do you think, little one?"

"Sometimes your face changes. It sort of...slips a little? I've wanted to believe it was just my imagination, but now I don't think it was," Sarah said nervously. "Do you remember my birthday all those years ago, when you first moved here? You had a lady with you at the tea house. She was the same way but had more trouble keeping her face on. She was a lot scarier than you, though. I had a weird feeling that she wanted to turn me into a dog."

"Really?" Lenora was a little blind-sided by the girl's accuracy. Maybe it wasn't just her visit to the Nevernever after all. If she was capable of sensing that much as a young child, her power could have burst forth at any time.

"Yeah. I have no idea why I knew that, but yeah." Sarah shook her head at the memory, barely repressing the shudder that threatened to run down her body.

"You weren't wrong, Sarah." Lenora studied the girl with a new admiration.

"You never answered my question."

"You'll find that's one of the most exasperating quirks of my kind."

Sarah's look of confusion gave way as she worked out the answer in her godmother's response. Eleanor wasn't human, but wouldn't say so directly. "You're Fae," she breathed.

Lenora inclined her head with a small smile.

Sarah giggled. She couldn't help it. "I have a Faerie godmother!"

"Indeed," Lenora said, her amusement twinkling in her eyes. "And now that particular fact is clear, I still wish to know what happened last week."

Sarah told her everything - well, mostly everything. She was frank enough to admit that she had wished away her little brother just because she was annoyed, for instance, but omitted her experience in the ballroom.

Lenora, who had already heard the missing portion of Sarah's tale from her wayward cousin, was more intrigued than annoyed. Already obfuscating and lying by omission, she thought. You'll be one of us sooner than I had hoped.

Though she rarely answered a blunt question, Lenora was never shy about posing them. "What did you think of the Goblin King?"

Sarah's furious blush said at least as much as her stammering reply. "I thought he was a villain, plain and simple. But I...I wasn't so sure after I got home. I think I needed him to be a villain, so he was one. He said so many things I didn't understand, and he looked at me so strangely. So now...I don't know what to think."

That's just as well, Lenora thought. At least the girl wasn't pretending to be repulsed. She idly wondered how much Sarah had understood instinctively on a subconscious level. The binding may not have been properly acknowledged, but it hadn't been rejected. Still, there were more immediate matters at hand. "You need to learn to control your magic, Sarah," Lenora said, abruptly changing the subject. "And though it's rare for one of your kind to study with my kind, it's not unheard of. You shall be my apprentice and under my protection."

"Okay," Sarah said, swallowing at the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. "How does all this work?"

"I'm not sure how it works amongst mortal wizards, but no matter. It will not work that way for you."

"Why not?" Sarah's apprehension sparked quickly into anger.

"Because you are not like them, little one," Lenora said soothingly. "Your power came too quickly and is too strong to be tutored in a normal way. I believe a lot of wizard training is about strengthening and drawing out one's magic. That would be of no use to you at all. Your magic is fully present already. You need to learn control."

"Oh. That makes sense." Sarah smiled a little sheepishly after her previous outburst of temper. "So, where do we start?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Lenora and the Wardens (December 1986)**

Lenora had hesitated to contact the White Council, but after Sarah's random magical outbursts began to happen in school, she felt she had no choice. Sarah was learning as quickly as she could - and progressing better than Lenora had expected - but she still only had partial control over her abilities at best. Times of heightened stress tended to make things worse, and Sarah could be as moody and overly dramatic as any other 15-year-old girl.

So after one especially trying day when all of the geography textbooks had floated to the ceiling during Sarah's 4th period class, Lenora had written to her only contact on the White Council. She had waited impatiently for over three weeks but had heard nothing in return, so she was quite shocked to find two grey-cloaked Wardens waiting unannounced outside her door one sunny afternoon.

"Eleanor Bradley?" the younger of the two, a harsh-looking young man with brown curls and curious grey eyes, asked coolly.

"I am known by that name," Lenora said as neutrally as possible.

"We have been informed that you require assistance in finding a wizard to train an apprentice," said the other Warden, a tense-looking dark-haired woman with brown eyes who looked to be in her early 30s.

"You have been misinformed," Lenora sighed. "Please do come in and we will sort this out."

Lenora led the Wardens into her solarium, just outside her studio room. Winter was drawing in at last, much to her relief, and it was the warmest room in the house. "Can I offer you something to drink? Some tea, perhaps?"

Neither Warden sat in the proffered chairs. The man grumbled, "I think it would be best if we just got down to business, ma'am."

"I think it would be best if I introduced myself properly," Lenora purred. She dropped her human glamour and stood before the astonished duo, practically glowing. She grinned, her pointed teeth glinting dangerously in the dappled sunlight. "I am Lady Lenora of the Unseelie Court, and you would be wise to treat me with respect."

"Hospitality! I invoke the Laws of Hospitality!" the young man cried out, his voice cracking with fear. Both Wardens had bowed immediately beneath Lenora's regal posture, neither daring to meet her gaze.

"Good boy. Perhaps we will have a productive meeting after all." Lenora sat in a white wicker chair along the edge of the solarium's exterior windows. "I shall abide by all obligations of guest and host, as long as you do. Please, sit."

Both Wardens sat on the wicker love seat close to the door. They seemed entirely out of place among the greenery and flowers, their swords jutting awkwardly from the delicate, feminine furniture.

"Now that you know who I am, perhaps you would be good enough to tell me who you are."

The female Warden gulped audibly and spoke with eyes carefully averted. "I am Jean Mallory, and this is Ken Gilbert. Headquarters sent us as we were the closest Wardens. I apologize that we were not given better information. Please understand that we meant no disrespect to you or the Winter Court."

Hmm, thought Lenora. He is quicker, but I believe she is smarter. "Of course not. One must forgive the petty errors of bureaucracy from time to time."

"Please, my Lady," the young man stammered. "If we are not here to interview a potential talent, then may I ask why we have been sent?"

"An overzealous and willful misunderstanding is my guess." Lenora shrugged. "I wrote to my contact to explain that I had taken on a human apprentice and that, regardless of what strange occurrences they may hear about, I would brook no interference in the matter."

Mallory cocked her head in curiosity. "Why would you take on a human apprentice?"

"I have known the child since her birth, and her abilities, great though I knew they would be, have been awakened in a way that I could not have foreseen. That is to say," Lenora paused and studied each Warden carefully in turn, "Her visit to the Nevernever changed the innate nature of her magic."

Gilbert spoke next, carefully couching his outrage behind a polite facade. "Why on earth would you ever take a defenseless child to the Nevernever? What purpose could that possibly serve?"

"I did not." Lenora looked pointedly at the young man.

"Did she open a Way herself?" Mallory gasped.

"Not exactly," Lenora demurred. "But I wouldn't be at all surprised if she could now."

"How did she get there, then?" Mallory asked.

"She wished away a child to the Goblin King."

The Wardens both stared aghast. "No one has ever returned from that part of the Nevernever - no one," Gilbert frowned.

"Many have returned from the Goblin Kingdom, in fact. But they never remember it, or the child they wished away."

"But she does?" Mallory asked.

"She returned with the child."

"Unprecedented," Gilbert breathed.

"Indeed. Sarah succeeded where none have before. But that is merely the beginning of it." Lenora abruptly changed the subject. "You, Gilbert - though younger than your companion, you have seen battle, yes?"

"I have," he confirmed, his face taut.

"And you, Mallory, have witnessed terrible things in the course of your duty. Your grey cloak may not show the blood, but it is covered in it."

"Yes." Mallory's voice was almost too soft to hear.

"Sarah, the young talent in question, will be here in just a few minutes. Before you meet her, you have to understand that she is my responsibility. She is under my protection, and belongs to the Winter Court."

"She's a changeling," Gilbert stated flatly.

"No, she's not. She's something else altogether." Lenora sighed. How much could she tell these brash young wizards without compromising her position? "But she belongs to us all the same."

Lenora rose and paced to the window and placed her palm on the cool glass, as though steadying herself. "Sarah's parents are human. Her mother has a small magical gift - just a touch of glamour, nothing that would draw the attention of the Council - but Sarah has always shone with a magical potential far greater than most human children. I expected her powers to begin manifesting at puberty, as it normally does amongst your kind. I was rather taken aback when it did not." Lenora turned to study the Wardens again, then continued, fondly smiling as she thought of the girl, "I assumed she was simply a 'late bloomer,' but Sarah has never really been one to take the standard path."

"Something happened in the Nevernever," Mallory said.

"Yes," Lenora replied, nodding in approval at Mallory's intuition. "Her visit to the Underground acted as a catalyst and released her abilities very suddenly, and at full force."

"If she's a danger to others, we can't guarantee that the White Council will not interfere," Gilbert stated with pursed lips. "It is our duty to…"

"I know full well your duty," Lenora hissed. "Why do you think I contacted the Council preemptively? She will not die by your misguided sword for an error beyond her current control, nor will she be cannon fodder for your interminable wars! She is not for you."

Mallory laid a hand on Gilbert's arm to silence the increasingly frightened man. "As far as I know, the Goblin Kingdom is outside the realm of both the Summer and Winter Courts. Goblins are considered WyldFae, and do not answer to the Sidhe."

Lenora curtly nodded as she strained to keep her temper in check. Though a straightforward explanation of the facts, it was true enough. Goblins were WyldFae. Even banished, however, Jareth was not. The Goblin Kingdom was independent, but having a Winter Court noble as its ruler colored its real position in shades of grey.

Mallory weighed her words carefully before proceeding. "Why is Sarah so important to the Unseelie Court?"

"Perhaps you would prefer to ask my queen?" Lenora bluffed with a fierce smile.

Mallory visibly paled, and Gilbert flinched at the suggestion. Lenora knew they would never insist on calling Mab. "That won't be necessary, my Lady," Mallory said, a slight tremor in her voice.

After a moment of tense silence, Mallory continued. "Does Sarah know what you are?"

Lenora nodded. "Yes."

"Have you taught her the Seven Laws of Magic?"

"It was the very first thing we discussed in our lessons. Sarah will never break any of them under my tutelage."

"But if she did?" Mallory didn't want to ask, but she had to know.

"I would send her to Arctis Tor immediately." Lenora's voice was as flat and cold as the icy walls of Mab's home itself.

Mallory nodded her understanding. There were far worse fates to be found in Mab's kingdom than dying at the sword of a Warden.

Lenora heard her front door swing open. "Eleanor? Are you in your studio?" Sarah shouted.

"In the solarium, Sarah," Lenora called in reply. "We have visitors."

Sarah strolled in, throwing down her heavy backpack by one of the wicker chairs. She eyed the Wardens with suspicion. Besides the weird cloaks, they were both carrying real swords. "Hello," she said warily.

Lenora turned to her. "Remember how I told you of the White Council? Here are Warden Mallory and Warden Gilbert." Both Wardens had risen from their seats.

Sarah nodded. "I'm Sarah Williams," she said as she offered her hand to Mallory.

"Pleased to meet you," Mallory murmured. She was almost overwhelmed by the magic pouring off the girl.

Gilbert shook Sarah's hand cautiously. He wasn't as skilled at blocking energy as his partner and was considerably taken aback by the girl's power.

"Warden Mallory, I believe you will understand our situation more fully if you share a soulgaze with Sarah. She has never experienced this, but I feel it is necessary to make my case to you." She turned to Sarah. "This may be uncomfortable, but I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you could handle it."

"Okay," Sarah said. "I just look her in the eye, and something happens, right?"

"Indeed," Lenora said.

Sarah sat in the wicker chair, then turned to Mallory. "Ready if you are, I guess."

She is a brave one, Mallory thought just as she moved her gaze to Sarah's eyes. She's neither frightened nor merely pretending to be nonchalant.

Sarah suddenly saw the woman before her in a white stone corridor. Her face and body were bruised, but she looked determined - almost defiant. Blood dripped from her hands and stained the stone at her feet, yet Sarah could see this was violence borne of duty. She saw innocents in lines behind the battered Warden and understood that the blood on her hands was just the price she paid to keep them safe. Mallory was resilient, strong, and true - if perhaps a little rigid.

Sarah came to herself with a little gasp. She had no idea what Mallory saw in her, but the woman held her left hand over her mouth in shock and gripped the right arm of her wicker chair with a crushing force.

Was it that bad? Sarah thought wildly. Am I monster?

"Sarah, give me a few minutes to finish here. Why don't you go to the kitchen and grab a snack?" Lenora asked.

"Okay," the dazed girl said.

"Tell me," said Lenora after the girl was safely out of earshot, "What did you see?"

Mallory licked her suddenly dry lips. "I saw her as she is now - brave and compassionate and a little mischievous. Lonely. Curious, intelligent. But I also saw her as she will be."

"Do tell," Lenora urged.

Mallory continued, almost as if in a trance. "Sarah stood in a great hall, wearing dark armor over a midnight blue velvet gown, her face resolute - almost cruel. She wore a pendant with a strange symbol on it, like a horned moon, but upside down. She held her arm bent in front of her like a falconer, but it was a white owl that perched there. Only it wasn't an owl at all. It was a man in the shadows behind her - a Sidhe noble. His hand was on her shoulder, his uneven ice blue eyes as cruel as hers - the Goblin King?" she asked, taking an intuitive leap.

Lenora remained silent, her face still.

"But there is no Goblin Queen," Mallory whispered as understanding dawned.

"There was no Goblin Queen," Lenora replied.

Mallory shook her head. "The mantle is settling on her even now. That's why her magic awakened the way it did."

"The magic of the labyrinth, of the Underground itself, created the mantle of the Goblin Queen for her," Lenora agreed.

"But the girl doesn't know."

Lenora shook her head. "She is not yet ready. But all will be apparent to her in time."

Mallory nodded with resignation. "I understand, Lady Lenora. I will recommend to the Council that Sarah remain under your guidance. I can't guarantee that others won't try to interfere, but I will do my best to stress the importance of it."

"Thank you," Lenora said with a bow. "Sarah is more important than even you have seen."

"I believe it," Mallory said gravely. She turned to her partner who had watched the entire exchange with wary curiosity. "We will take our leave of you, then. Please feel free to call upon me if you have further need of us."

Lenora inclined her head. "I will."

Mallory nodded, and the two Wardens left.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sarah, After (October 1987)**

Sarah closed her eyes and counted to ten. Toby had gone to bed early with a mild cold, and her father was working late again, so her step-mother, Karen, had taken the opportunity to launch into another of her especially aggravating "little talks."

"...Believe me, I appreciate the help with Toby whenever we need it, but honey - you need your own life, too. You spend all of your time either with that Eleanor woman or your brother - don't you have friends?"

"Honestly, Karen?" Sarah asked as calmly as she could. "No."

"What do you mean, no?" Karen asked, aghast in her usual pearl-clutching manner.

"I mean, since Mellie moved away, no, I don't have any friends."

Karen rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture with your hands. "Oh, such melodrama. Of course you have friends, that's not what I meant."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "You wanted this conversation. So let's have it. No, beyond my brother and Eleanor, I don't have a single friend in this world. Not one. When was the last time you saw me on the phone with anyone besides my mother?"

Karen had the decency to look a little thoughtful. "I don't remember, exactly."

"Exactly. Do I ever have friends over?"

"No, not really - but they're always welcome."

"I'll keep that in mind, you know, if I ever make any," Sarah sneered.

Karen sighed, still oblivious. "Sweetie, I just know if you put yourself out there more - maybe joined a club at school, something like that - you'd make some friends, maybe even finally find a boyfriend..."

"Enough!" Sarah shouted, her voice so loud Karen's decorative plates rattled in their hangers. Karen suddenly looked as if she might cry.

Sarah continued in a fierce whisper, "Do you know why I've never been on a date, Karen? Do you? No one has ever asked me out. In fact, no one speaks to me at school anymore - no one except the teachers. I misread the situation for a long time. I thought everyone hated me. They call me Ice Queen behind my back, you know. I just thought they didn't like me - general high school nonsense. But I figured it out eventually.

"They're afraid of me."

Karen scoffed. "That's ridiculous. You're smart, you're very pretty - they're just intimidated by you."

"I wish it were that simple, Karen." Sarah sighed, her fury draining away. She thought of all the strange things that continued to happen around her, despite how desperately she tried to maintain control over her magic. "They know there's something different about me, something 'off.' They sense it. They're frightened of me. I think maybe you are, too - deep down."

Karen's mouth dropped open. "Oh, Sarah."

"The only two people in this world who accept me exactly as I am are Eleanor and Toby. They're the only ones here who talk to me, who really listen. Mom barely gives me a thought, daddy mostly ignores me, and you're too busy trying to 'fix' me to even see the real me."

Sarah pushed her chair back from the dining room table. "And if you'll please excuse me, I'm not hungry."

Karen nodded, still a little in shock.

Sarah walked upstairs to her bedroom as calmly as she could. She knew these episodes with Karen only served to cause friction with her father and would never really be resolved. She carefully shut the door, flopped down on her bed, and began to cry.

She was isolated; she knew that. She was different from other people. She had to be careful, so controlled all the time, or she could slip and do something she didn't intend to do. Just last week she had been sitting in study hall, idly wondering how she would look with blonde hair. She had been reading a novel and twirling her hair, daydreaming about dyeing it, but when she looked at the strand she was twisting...her hair was blonde.

She hadn't done it consciously, but it happened. It took all of her concentration to change it back.

It had only been a few minutes, and no one had noticed - but what if they had? What if she accidentally hurt someone? She still wasn't sure what she was capable of, and although her training had progressed a great deal in the last year, she was still very powerful, and very unpredictable.

Seeing her friends from the Underground did help, but they had duties to attend to, and couldn't remain at her beck and call. Sometimes talking to Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo made Sarah sadder. It only highlighted her growing awareness that she didn't belong anywhere anymore - too human for the Underground, too strange for Above.

Sarah felt adrift, and very alone.

She was still sniffling when she heard small footsteps approach her bed. "I'm sorry, Tobes, but I'm not feeling very well right now…" Sarah trailed off. She hadn't heard the door open.

She opened her eyes to see a squat grey goblin standing right in front of her. He had huge round eyes, a single fang protruding over his lip, and a strange furry hat. "We listen to you, Lady," he said as he clumsily pulled the throw from the foot of her bed to cover her. "We're always here, even when you can't see."

Sarah took the little goblin's hand in her own. "Thank you," she whispered. "That really means a lot."

The little goblin blushed and slipped back into her closet, and Sarah fell into a peaceful sleep. She dreamt of a strange round room - a throne room - filled with goblins singing as she looked on, smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sarah, After (November 1988)**

Between her school work and her magical training, the year passed quickly for Sarah. She maintained frequent contact with her friends Underground, and goblins appeared more and more frequently in her room. Sometimes they came to cause mischief, sometimes to bring comfort. She became completely used to their presence, and even missed them when they were absent many days in a row. They were simple creatures, true - and did have a real knack for causing chaos - but they were strangely warm-hearted and affectionate.

As usual, she was babysitting Toby the first Friday night in November. The previous Monday had been Halloween, and Sarah had dutifully pulled on one of her medieval dresses from her old costume box to accompany Toby through their neighborhood on his annual candy quest. Toby had insisted on dressing as an owl with a construction paper beak and a "feather" covered cloak that Sarah had cobbled together using her mother's old sewing machine from the attic.

She had gotten Toby to go to bed on time without much struggle and only one story, which was unusual. So when Sarah heard a strange thumping sound from his room about a half hour later, she became very suspicious. When she heard muffled giggling, she knew something was going on.

Sarah marched to Toby's room and threw open the door to confront him. "Toby!"

Toby was jumping on his bed, while a goblin jumped from his dresser onto the bed with him, only to be bounced off when Toby came back down on the mattress. Other goblins, probably waiting for their own turns to be bounced off, where clustered around the room, stuffing leftover Halloween candy into their mouths.

"Sarah!" Toby shouted guiltily.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Sarah shouted back sternly. "And you! Scroot! Tepper, Jasper, Boll - what do you think you're doing, huh?"

Murmurs of "Uh-oh, the Lady! The Lady!" flowed around the room.

"You can see my friends?" Toby whispered.

"Of course I can see them! Hey, Doople - I see you. Don't try to hide behind the curtains." The tiny goblin in question pouted at Sarah but sheepishly joined a group near the closet door.

"Mommy can't see them," Toby said skeptically.

"Well, your mommy can't see a lot of things," Sarah huffed. "Okay, all goblins listen up! Toby has a bedtime for a reason. No more visits after Toby's bedtime. That's a rule! I'll see you get the bog if you break it, you hear me? Now, all of you - go home!" Some of the goblins shivered at the mention of the bog, but they all stayed still and blinked at her for a second. "All goblins! Go home...right now!"

With that, they all disappeared in ones and twos, each with a small popping noise.

Candy wrappers littered the floor, and several picture books had been knocked from Toby's shelves in the melee. Sarah sighed. "We're going to clean this up, mister, but I have some questions first."

"Okay," Toby said in a small voice.

"How often do your friends come and visit?" Sarah asked.

"A lot. More when I have candy," he grinned.

"I bet," Sarah said ruefully. "How long have they been visiting you?"

Toby shrugged. "I don't know. A long time."

"Well," Sarah said. "They visit me, too. That's probably why they visit you."

"You did know some of their names."

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah." The little boy looked thoughtful. "They don't always do what I say, but they listened to you."

"Why do think they did that, Toby?" Sarah looked a little thoughtful herself.

"They call you the Lady."

"Always? They never use my name?"

Toby shook his head. "I think you're their boss."

Sarah laughed then. "I'm not their boss, Toby - though I'm glad they mind me. You need to mind me, too."

Toby got a defiant gleam in his eye. "I said you were _their_ boss, not mine."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "C'mon. Let's get this mess cleaned up, and then you need to get to bed for real before your mom and dad get home."

Toby nodded, and started to scoop candy wrappers into the trashcan while Sarah straightened up his books. "Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

Toby ran to hug his sister. "I'm going to miss you when you go live with the goblins."

Sarah squeezed him back. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go live with the goblins, buddy."

"Not yet," the little boy whispered, still holding tight.

"Oh, Toby. Is that what you think? I'm just going away to school in a few months. I'll write and call all the time, and I'll be home to visit before you know it."

"Okay." Toby finally loosened his grip. "Are you going to tell mommy about the goblins?"

"She'd never believe me, kid. I think your secret's safe. But no more visits after bedtime, okay?"

"Okay."

They finished cleaning the room in companionable silence, and Sarah went back to her room to read. As she flopped down on her bed, she thought, What exactly did the goblins say that would make Toby think I was going to live with them? But she shrugged it off as a toddler misunderstanding, and lost herself in the prose of her novel.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sarah and Jareth (Christmas 1988)**

Mid-afternoon on Christmas day found Sarah sitting morosely on the snow-covered swing set in her backyard. All of Karen's extended family had arrived for the holiday, and the house had become too packed and hot for Sarah to bear. She knew she was behaving like a sullen child, but she needed a break from the insincere smiles and repeated questions of small talk waiting inside.

At least Toby was having a great time for once. Even Karen wasn't too strict on holidays - though she would have had a conniption if she had known how many sugar cookies he and his goblin friends had eaten the night before.

Sarah had thrown herself into her studies in the previous two years and had finished all of her high school credits before the winter break. So, with no pomp and very little circumstance, she had graduated early.

As a result, most of the repetitive questions she had been fielding had been about her mid-year acceptance to Mundelein College in Chicago, where she would be moving in January. She knew it was the right thing to do, but every time she thought about it, she got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. She would turn 18 alone, in a new city - a daunting thing, to be sure. Okay, she reassured herself with a small smile, I may be nervous. But I've faced dangers untold and hardships unnumbered before. Surely college won't be as bad as all that.

Her smile suddenly dropped away. It probably won't be as fun, either, she thought with a sigh.

Sarah kicked her black boots at the accumulated snow beneath the swing where she sat. "If only I had someone to talk to about all of this," she whispered aloud. "I really wish I had a friend right now…"

Around the same time, Jareth lounged across his throne, idly tapping his riding crop against his boot, as was his general habit when bored. His goblins were acting strangely today. It was almost as if they were anticipating something, but they weren't behaving as they normally did before a child was wished away. He knew that some of his insufferable subjects were quite ill with stomach pain from consuming too many holiday confections the previous night - with his intended's brother, no less - but that did not explain the behavior of the entire group in his throne room.

Still, it seemed something was about to happen, and when he heard Sarah's wish, he knew what it was.

"I really wish I had a friend right now…"

"Ah, my precious thing!" Jareth exclaimed as a sly smile crossed his face. Surely even Lenora would deem those words close enough! He conjured a crystal and tossed it high above in one smooth motion, and when it landed, he was standing in the snow before his beloved.

Sarah's shock at the Goblin King's sudden appearance quickly gave way to Lenora's repeated etiquette lessons. She jumped from the swing and instantly fell into a deep curtsey. "Your majesty," she breathed, averting her eyes out of habit, though no soulgaze was possible with a creature of the Nevernever.

Jareth's smile widened. His brave girl! What a magnificent queen she would be. "Sarah Williams," he said warmly, her name a caress in his velvet voice. He had seen her often enough through his crystals, but the changes time had wrought were more apparent in person. Her legs were still coltish in a short purple skirt and black tights, but her unbuttoned grey wool coat revealed a rather more mature figure. Her green eyes sparkled in the most captivating way, but he found her pink lips even more compelling. Worse still, the way her magic pulled at his own stirred him in a primal way he had not anticipated.

Jareth, even as a creature of the Winter Court, had never known hunger quite like this. There was an icy core at the center of this girl that resonated so strongly with his own, that he could scarcely contain his arousal.

But he remembered Lenora's warnings and smiled in a way that he hoped was more polite than predatory. "My, how you've changed."

Sarah, perhaps subconsciously feeling the same pull, licked her lips. "You've changed, too, your highness." His uneven, frost-blue eyes were exactly as she remembered, but his appearance was now more Regency than rock and roll. His hair, still untamed and the color of moonlight, was shorter, and though his skin still glittered, the markings above his eyes were more subtle than she recalled. His grey breeches, she noted wryly, were still sinfully tight beneath his dark blue frock coat, though.

"Glamour, you know," Jareth said. "Every runner's expectations shade the way I appear to them."

Curiosity piqued, Sarah said, "I'm not sure this is how I expected to see you after all this time."

"You're not a runner this time, Sarah. Now you see me as I truly am."

"Oh," Sarah said, her brow furrowed. She knew she should have been afraid of his sudden appearance, but she found that she wasn't. She seemed, to her great confusion, almost relieved to see him. In fact, she had the strangest compulsion to close the distance between them and wrap her arms around his neck. Which, she reasoned, was probably not the best course of action to take with an enemy. Or former enemy? He certainly wasn't looking at her like he wanted revenge, though she was not at all sure what he did want. "Pardon me for being so bold, your highness, but why have you come here?"

"Please, have no fear. I've no designs at present on that blond scamp you call a brother - though someone should warn him against plying my goblins with quite as much sugar as he habitually does - nor do I wish to harm you in any way." Jareth regarded Sarah quizzically, tilting his head in an owlish manner. "You wished, Sarah. So I came."

Sarah hadn't realized she'd spoken the words aloud. "I...I guess I did. I didn't really mean to," she added hastily.

"Ah, but what's said is said. You know that."

She remained silent for a moment. "So you're not here for revenge?"

Jareth laughed. "No indeed."

Sarah smiled tentatively then. "Okay." Sarah walked over to a snow-covered garden bench near the swing set. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked, brushing snow from the seat. "Oh, no! I forgot - this one is wrought iron. That won't do." Sarah abruptly turned around as she pulled the now wet, snow-soaked mitten from her right hand, and tripped over one of Toby's toy trucks buried in the snow along the path.

Jareth, who had found himself hovering ever nearer the girl, promptly caught her as she stumbled. Her bare hand fell flat against his chest, cold even through his waistcoat, but more welcome than she could possibly know.

"Sorry," Sarah whispered, staring into his eyes for the first time.

"Don't be," the Goblin King purred. He set her firmly on her feet and took her bare hand in his gloved one, raised her open palm to his mouth, and placed a chaste kiss into the center of it.

A bolt of electricity surged through Sarah at the unexpected contact. She had never felt anything like it; her knees went weak beneath her. She would have fallen again, had Jareth's other arm not still been wrapped protectively around her waist.

He pulled her closer to him. "No harm done," he murmured as he pulled her hand to cup his jaw.

Just then, the back door flew open and a small boy stomped into the yard. "Sarah!" Toby shouted. "Mom is looking for you!"

Sarah, who was still too shocked to be properly embarrassed, could scarcely find the air to speak. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

Toby looked at his sister in the Goblin King's arms and shrugged as though it was an everyday occurrence. "Okay," he said as he went back into the house.

Sarah suddenly realized that she was still touching Jareth's face. She quickly stepped back, blushing furiously. "Oh, your highness, I…"

"No need to be so formal when we are amongst only ourselves," he interrupted. "I would prefer you call me by my given name."

Sarah swallowed. In magical circles, names were power, and he was giving her a great deal of trust with this gesture. "Jareth, then," she said shyly.

Jareth smiled at the simple intimacy. "Now that we are on our way to being more properly acquainted, may I ask what brought on your slip of the tongue?"

"What?" Sarah asked, still a little bewildered at the entire situation.

"Your wish, Sarah. Why did you call for a friend?"

"Oh, right. I'm going to college next month - moving to another city. And I've been really anxious about it. I barely have anyone here, but I'll have no one there. It's...frightening. To know you're so alone."

"You don't strike me as the sort to back down from a challenge. You are the Champion of the Labyrinth, after all," Jareth said conspiratorially.

Sarah smiled at that. "I was saying something almost like that to myself earlier."

"Wise minds think alike, as they say."

"Right. It's nice to hear it from someone else, though."

"Mmm. You won't be alone, you know. I very much doubt you could keep the goblins away from you now if you tried - or your traitorous friends. I'll make sure your mirror portal travels with you to this new place."

"You'd do that?" Sarah asked, incredulous.

"Of course."

"Thank you, Jareth."

"It will be my pleasure."

Sarah paused a moment, trying to make sense of this sudden generosity. "Would you like to visit me sometime? In Chicago? Maybe around my birthday next month?" She bit her lip, wondering if she crossed a line.

Jareth made a formal bow. "I would be honored."

The memory of Sarah's smile at his response would help to stay his patience a great many times in the months ahead.

"I'd better get back inside. Karen is probably already looking for me."

"I'm sure you're getting cold, as well."

"No, I've never really minded the cold. But I could do without Karen's lectures…"

Jareth grinned. He knew from watching in his crystals how the woman aggravated Sarah. "We'll speak again soon. Anytime you have need of me, just speak my name with intent. Or you can always use the mirror."

"Okay," Sarah said, "I will."

"Friends, then?" Jareth asked, holding out his hand.

"Friends," Sarah agreed as she shook it. "See you later…" She bolted back into the house, glancing back at the Goblin King with a smile.

"That went much better than I expected," Jareth said to himself. "Much better, indeed."

Later that afternoon, Sarah cornered Toby. "That man I was talking to earlier, in the yard…"

"The Gobble King," Toby said, much to Sarah's surprise.

"The Goblin King," Sarah corrected automatically.

"Yes," Toby said with an eye-roll and a dismissive gesture that seemed a little imperious for a four-year-old.

"Well, he said you needed to stop feeding your goblin friends so many sweets."

Toby gave Sarah a calculating look. "But I can still give them some sweets, right?"

Sarah sighed in exasperation. Sometimes Toby was worse than even Eleanor in finding verbal loopholes. "I guess so, but a lot less, okay?"

"Fine," Toby huffed.

Sarah immediately thought of the monarch she had spoken to earlier. If she hadn't known better, she would think Toby was a miniature copy of him sometimes. Surely his 13 - no, she corrected grimly, 10 hours in the Underground with Jareth had not made such an impact. Maybe all little brothers were smug little brats...who were constantly surrounded by goblins.

Before Sarah could mull this thought any further, another well-meaning relative approached her to ask after her college plans, and she was able to push it to the back of her mind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sarah, in Chicago (January 1989)**

January was a whirlwind of overwhelming, rapid change for Sarah.

Though she had visited New York City with her mother often as a child, Sarah was accustomed to life in a New England village. Even in the dead of winter Chicago was loud and overwhelming, and large sections of the city were deemed dangerous by residents and visitors alike. Every place was new, and with all of her routines shattered, Sarah felt adrift.

Circumstance also placed her in a closet-sized single dorm room, which, considering how often she returned from classes to find goblins lounging on every available surface, was probably just as well.

Her mid-year acceptance at Mundelein also put Sarah in a unique position. As it was a small campus, many of the freshman courses she needed were only offered in the fall. She had a lighter course load as a result but was frustrated that she hadn't gotten a better start on her schooling. She had a strange feeling that time was running out, though time for what or why that might be she could not say.

She dreamt almost nightly of the Labyrinth, the dreams coming with such clarity that they almost seemed real. In some of these dreams, she explored places she had never seen during her run, and when Sarah awoke, she wondered whether they truly existed. She kept returning, again and again, to a garden alongside the eastern castle wall. The first time she came across it, it was a sort of scraggly patch of dead grass and dry, spindly shrubberies. But each time she revisited it became more verdant. Flower beds appeared and filled with bright flowers of every description - some which Sarah had never before seen, and could only assume were native to the Underground. Fruit trees were espaliered against the walls and grew in more quickly than should have been possible. By her sixth visit, it was a lush garden, complete with a bench for reading and a small fountain in the corner. This renewed place gave Sarah a feeling of tranquility that she often longed for during that tumultuous January, and allowed her to awaken refreshed and ready for another day.

The Goblin King had been true to his word and had met her for an outing shortly after her birthday. She found him mindless of the cold, staring pensively at one of the green patinated lions in front the Art Institute, looking oddly human in a modern winter coat.

"Sarah," he breathed as she approached him. He produced a large purple flower, seemingly out of thin air. "A belated birthday gift."

"Thank you," she smiled. She recognized the flower as one of the new kinds she had seen in the garden in her dreams. "Did that come from a new garden on the east side of the castle, by any chance?"

"It did." Jareth's smile was both self-satisfied and proud.

"How could I know that, Jareth? I've only dreamt about it, I've never seen it," Sarah asked in wonder.

"Perhaps while you dream of the Labyrinth, the Labyrinth dreams also of you," Jareth purred.

Together they moved through the galleries, sometimes chatting amiably, sometimes in pleasant silence. Sarah had never strolled a museum at her own pace before, having always been quickly shepherded through them on school trips, and Jareth found to his surprise that there was a lot to be admired in mortal art. He found himself especially taken with some Art Nouveau decorative items, which reminded him of Fae work he'd seen in his youth.

Sarah enjoyed the art as well, but found she was rather more taken by the tall man at her side. She hadn't noticed that day he appeared in her yard, but he had a unique, intoxicating scent - like evergreen trees with mulling spices, and an indescribable something else that she associated with magic itself. She would catch just a hint of it every time he brushed near her, and as the day drew on, she longed to pull herself close, to nuzzle into his neck, to drink in as much of it as she could.

But he kept a respectful distance, dancing just out of reach every time she drew too near, effortlessly, as though his action was unintended. And, Sarah reasoned, maybe it was. Or maybe his scent had this effect on all mortal females, and he was accustomed to avoiding contact as a king.

It was a sweet sort of torture, though.

Jareth insisted on using magic to return her to her dorm. "The sun sets very early still," he said, "And dangers lurk in the dark even in this world." Sarah acquiesced to his wishes and allowed herself to be transported back to campus with a simple toss of a crystal. She walked back to her building savoring the lingering sense of calm his presence had lent her.

Jareth similarly returned to his castle in the Nevernever, reassured that Sarah returned some measure of his feeling. Her surreptitious sniffing had caught him off guard and pleased him inordinately; her dilated pupils and flushed cheeks confirmed her desire.

At least, Jareth thought later in his chambers, I am not the only one feeling this pull. Perhaps she will not make me wait much longer.

Sarah quickly found that her new classmates would not instinctively avoid her as long as she was able to keep her magic tightly buttoned up, but years of social isolation had left her wary in the company of others, and the level of control she needed to exert was exhausting. She continued to spend much of her time alone. With so little coursework, and without Toby to care for or Karen's endless list of household chores, Sarah had a new pool of leisure time. She found herself frequenting a nearby bookstore, where she spent the majority of her pocket money on fantasy novels and Victorian classics.

Sarah was browsing there one Saturday morning when a slightly harried thirty-ish woman mistook her for an employee. "I told my nephew I would get him a book, but I have no idea what a 10-year-old would want," the woman said, gesturing in exasperation.

"What does he like? Mysteries, adventure stories?" Sarah asked.

"He likes scary movies; I know that," the woman replied.

Sarah led her to the children's section. "I bet he'd like this one," she said, pulling out a John Bellairs novel. "It's scary, but not too scary, and although I loved it at his age, it's not girly at all."

"Oh, thank you!" the woman said, giving the paperback a cursory examination. "I think this will work."

"You're welcome," Sarah said, returning to the shelves she had been perusing.

The tall, curly-haired brunette at the register recognized Sarah as a regular. "I saw what you did over there, helping that lady in the kids' section. Thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing," Sarah shrugged, placing a copy of Little Dorrit on the counter.

"Actually," the woman said with a smile, "It's the kind of thing people get paid to do. Maybe you've noticed the sign in the window?"

"What?"

"The sign that says 'Help Wanted.'" The woman's blue eyes twinkled with good-natured humor.

"Oh! I don't know. I've never actually had a job before."

"Well," the woman said with a laugh, "That's what first jobs are for. There's also another incentive in your case…"

"What's that?" Sarah asked.

"The employee discount," the woman grinned as she slipped the fat paperback into a paper sack. "$3.21 please."

Sarah grinned back. "I'll consider it. I'm Sarah Williams, by the way."

"Heather Glenn, manager of this fine establishment," she shook Sarah's offered hand. "I'm serious about the job offer. You're obviously a reader, and friendly - and for some reason, we keep hiring people who are only one or the other. Here, take an application at least."

"Okay," Sarah said shyly. "Thanks."

She had already decided she wanted the job by the time she got back to her dorm room and returned the next day ready to apply.

It seemed the sudden changes in Sarah's life were beginning to pay off. She entered February happy to have the continued friendship of her Goblin King, no longer wholly ostracized by her peers, enjoying her few classes, and newly employed. She started to settle into her new city with a growing sense of contentment.

 _Author note: We're just a little over halfway through our novella-length tale now. The story itself is complete; I will continue to add a chapter or two a day until it's all posted. Thank you so much for reading!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Sarah, in Nyack (Spring Break 1989)**

Rather than seeking a warmer climate and typical college-aged debauchery, Sarah simply went home for spring break. She missed Toby more than she'd ever imagined possible and longed for the familiarity of her old room.

Once there, she visited Eleanor, and despite the continued cold, took Toby to the park. She read him stories and played with him as she always had, happy to make up lost time.

But things abruptly changed on the third night.

At a late dinner due to his work schedule, a casual discussion of her classes prompted Sarah's father to ask, "Have you decided on a major yet? It's not too late to choose pre-law, you know."

"Law? No, daddy. That's not for me," Sarah replied with a small smile.

"Business, then? Accounting, maybe." Robert speared a green bean with his fork as if to punctuate his words.

Something in her father's tone made Sarah look up from her chicken. Robert's mouth was set in a grim line. They had discussed potential majors when he took her to tour the campus the previous summer, and though Robert had been insistent that Sarah be "practical" when she chose, she hadn't thought further of it. She had assured him at the time that she would not major in theatre like her mother had, and thought the matter dropped. She was wrong, apparently. "I'm really enjoying my literature course and my creative writing workshop - actually, Professor Slater says I show promise. One of my pieces will be in the student journal next month…"

"Literature? Writing? Really, Sarah - we've discussed this," Robert sighed.

"You have to be practical, Sarah," Karen chimed in. "You're pretty enough, I'll admit, but with your social skills, you're certainly not going to get an M-R-S degree. You need to think in terms of career."

Shocked that Karen would be so crudely old fashioned, Sarah's mouth fell open. Did they think so little of her? "Some people do write for a living, you know," Sarah said defiantly.

Robert shook his head. "I can see I should have taken a firmer hand in all this. I expect you to have this sorted by the end of the semester. Set yourself a plan, Sarah - a practical plan - or face the consequences."

"The consequences," Sarah stated flatly. Had Robert been so absent in her childhood that she failed to notice how domineering he was?

Robert looked as grim as his words. "Choose a decent, practical major. Or we won't pay for your schooling."

Karen expected hysterics and tears, and Robert expected the pouting and petulance of a child. Neither expected Sarah's quiet response. "No."

"No?" Robert repeated in disbelief.

Sarah shook her head, and reiterated firmly and without rancor, "No."

"I'm not bluffing. We won't pay for fuzzy-headed nonsense. I let you slide this semester, but I'm serious, Sarah."

Sarah pushed her chair back from the table and rose gracefully to her feet. "I understand that. What you don't understand is that you don't get to ignore me for years on end and then dictate the direction of my life."

"Sarah!" Robert shouted. "That's not…"

"Fair?" Sarah asked, eyebrows raised quizzically.

"Sarah…" Robert said in a warning tone.

Sarah continued quietly, "If you'd ever taken the time to get to know me as a person, you'd know that I'm not remotely suited to any of those careers. I'd be a terrible lawyer - and a worse accountant. My talents simply lie in other areas. I know you think I'm just an aimless dreamer - at best an overgrown child. But you don't know me at all."

"Be sensible, Sarah. Think this through. You'll be on your own."

"Daddy, money aside, I've been 'on my own' since mom left. This is just a new challenge." And with that, Sarah left her father and step-mother alone to sit in shock.

Sarah found some flattened boxes in the attic, and carefully packed everything in her room that she wanted to keep, including the fateful red book she'd received on her eighth birthday. She quietly went downstairs and called Eleanor to come for her, and then slipped into Toby's room. Seeing him sprawled across the bed in that carefree way that only small children really achieve, Sarah thought her heart would break. She almost wished she could take him with her, but wisely managed not to say the words aloud. Still, she allowed herself one selfish act: She woke the boy up.

"Hey, Toby," she whispered as he blinked at her sleepily. "Sorry to wake you up, but I have to go a little sooner than I'd planned…"

"To live with the goblins?" Toby said as he yawned.

Sarah wiped a stray tear even as she laughed a little. Her brother did have a one-track mind. "No, buddy. Just back to Chicago."

"Okay." The little boy wrapped his arms around his sister and gave her a completely unexpected kiss on the cheek. "But you tell the king I said 'hi.'"

"I will," Sarah said sadly. "Hey, how do you know I still talk to the king?"

Toby shrugged. "Goblins," he said with a tone that implied it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sarah kissed his head and tucked the blankets back around him. "I love you, Toby. I'll miss you every day."

"I love you, too. And I'll miss you. Night-night, Sarah."

"Good night, little man." Sarah wiped another tear, and silently left the room.

Without another word to her parents, she carried the boxes she'd packed and her suitcase out onto the porch to wait for Eleanor and managed not to break down into wracking sobs until she was safely ensconced in the little guest room in Eleanor's house across town.

The next morning, her eyes still swollen from crying, Sarah laid out the plan she had come up with in the night. "Mom may not visit me often, but she sends generous checks at my birthday and for Christmas. I have a decent amount in savings, Eleanor - more than enough for a rental deposit. My job is only part-time, but Heather is always short handed - I'm sure she'll give me more hours after the semester is over. I'll have to leave Mundelein then - there's no way I can afford private college tuition, even with financial aid. But I can get resident tuition in Chicago if I live there a while, and maybe with a grant, next year I can go to community college."

"That all sounds very pragmatic." Lenora shook her head in wonder at the stubborn girl. "And your father claims you're impractical."

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes again. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"

"Not at all. I think he's being unreasonable. You should be allowed to make your own decisions." Lenora's face clouded over with guilt, but Sarah didn't notice. You should have this time on your own, Lenora thought. So many decisions have already been made for you. Time grows short, poor child. Soon there will be no more decisions for you to make, & your mortal family chooses now to cause more strife? Abominable. She simply said aloud, "I'll help you in any way I can."

"Will you come help me move when I find an apartment? I'll have to leave the dorm before June," Sarah sniffled.

"I will," Lenora said softly. She would have moved the stars to comfort the girl if that had been within her power.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sarah, Alone (Late Spring - 1989)**

Sarah returned to school both sad and determined. Her plan was in place; she just had to see it through.

With a dorm room to herself and no one looking over her shoulder, Sarah began to use her magic more and more. Unlike most wizards, she hadn't been trained to use words or tools to focus and direct magical energy - she used only her emotions and her will. Eleanor had given her the basics, but since most of her training had been focused on diffusing and hiding her magic, she found that she didn't exactly know what she could do with it.

But as Sarah began to experiment, she found she could do almost anything she tried.

For instance, she found a quick gesture could tidy a goblin-ransacked room, which proved valuable as goblins visited her almost daily. She discovered that she could move objects by directing wind and use a pointed finger to light candles individually or en masse. She determined she had a particular knack for glamour, as her mother had, but found little use for it day to day. She could not, however, produce crystal orbs, much to her disappointment.

She began to use magic for simple tasks every day. But she also started to notice a specific side effect.

It began gradually. Sarah had taken to wearing her hair up most of the time, mostly as a practical matter. She would sometimes catch her long hair uncomfortably in the straps of her backpack, and the constant Chicago wind would blow it over her face as she walked. She noticed one day that the bobby pins holding up her hair had begun to irritate her scalp. She started to wear a ponytail instead, but the metal clasp on the elastic band also began to itch if it got too near her skin. Sarah was eventually forced to throw out all of her metal hair accessories and got some plastic barrettes, a few cloth scrunchies, and some wooden hair sticks to replace them.

It wasn't until the buckle on her wristwatch had given her a blister, and the stainless steel cutlery in the cafeteria began to make her hands tingle that she put two and two together. She had no trouble touching gold, silver, brass, copper, aluminum, or even cheap nickel costume jewelry.

Sarah was developing some sort of allergy to iron.

She stopped using her magic altogether for two weeks, keeping it tightly under lock and key as she had before. But her symptoms only got worse.

Although she knew that the Fae couldn't tolerate cold iron, Sarah knew nothing of other human practitioners of magic, and could only assume that this was something that happened to all of them in time. Sarah asked her mentor about it, but Eleanor had breezily replied that she had wondered if this would happen. She told her not to worry about it and gave her advice on how to cope.

Sarah got a set of sturdy plastic camping utensils that she kept in her purse and took to wearing gloves when she had to ride the bus. She was greatly relieved when she realized that the zipper and rivets in her favorite pair of jeans were made from brass, though she was very disturbed to find that the hooks and eyes in her bras were not. Sarah considered herself far too busty to go braless without embarrassment, so after an excursion to a fabric shop, she used a sewing machine in the theatre's costume shop to replace the hook and eye tape with a button closure.

Despite this new challenge, time swept by, and soon the semester was heading to a close. Sarah had to find somewhere to live, quickly.

Sarah was starting to get desperate. She only had two weeks left to find an apartment, and although she scoured ads and checked bulletin boards, nothing clicked. Most places in her price range were in decidedly sketchy parts of town, and the others nearly always included roommates, which she wanted to avoid. She had gone to see a few places but hoped she wouldn't have to settle for any of them.

She wasn't expecting much when she approached the old wooden boarding house, but the neighborhood was nice enough, and the exterior seemed well-kept. The rent listed in the ad she had circled seemed low but realistic, yet she tried not to get her hopes up.

Sarah experienced magic all the time, was sometimes flooded with it physically, but still - the first word she breathed when she saw the tiny flat in the old boarding house was, "Magical!"

"What, dear?" Mrs. Spunkelcrief asked. The landlady with the unlikely moniker seemed to be a little hard of hearing.

"I said it's lovely," Sarah said with a bit more volume.

"Well, we've had trouble keeping this one rented because it's so small. Are you sure you don't want to see the basement unit? It's definitely larger."

"No," Sarah answered. "I like this light."

Although a little worn around the edges, it truly was charming. Three tall windows along the exterior wall flooded the room with mid-morning light and made the rosy hardwood floors glow. Huge lilac bushes were in bloom directly below, filling the room with a subtle floral fragrance. A very small bathroom and an even smaller closet along one wall faced a cheerful kitchenette along the opposite side.

It was a tiny, single room efficiency, but Sarah couldn't have been more enthusiastic about a palace.

"Well," Mrs. Spunkelcrief continued, smiling at Sarah's look of wonder, "Are you interested, young lady? I'll need a deposit to hold it."

"It's perfect," Sarah said eagerly. "I'll write you a check today."

Sarah spent her last two weeks at Mundelein studying for finals and haunting thrift shops and discount stores to set up her tiny household.

Lenora arrived to assist as promised, bearing both the items Sarah had packed from her childhood home and gifts. She gave Sarah a brass daybed, two bookshelves, and a small wooden table with two matching chairs. She also gave Sarah a strange chef's knife, its blade made of ceramic rather than steel, which she said she had acquired on a recent trip to Japan. Lenora also brought an old set of silverware, which Sarah was shocked to see was made of real silver.

"I can't accept this, Eleanor - it must be worth a small fortune! And you've given me so much already!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Nonsense, little one," Lenora smiled. "You have dined with real silver every time you were in my house, and never even seemed to notice."

Sarah realized she never really had. "I don't know what to say. Thank you. For everything." She hugged her godmother tightly then, and together they unpacked Sarah's few belongings.

Later, after Eleanor left, Sarah surveyed her new home with some satisfaction. She loved everything there, from the plain muslin curtains to the mismatched white dishes. Her new daybed was a perfect fit between the closet and bathroom doors, the little table between the first and second window, and her dresser between the second and third. Her bookshelves lined the interior wall, along with a small entry table and lamp by the door. The little apartment looked very comfortable - cheerful and cozy.

Sarah wouldn't deny that she was nervous to be on her own so suddenly and so young, but she was happy with where she landed.

After a quick shower to wash away the grime of the move, Sarah stood towel drying her hair before the mirror above her dresser. Standing there in her pink floral print robe, she made a decision. She had only seen Jareth a couple of times since their meeting in January, but she suddenly felt she should call.

"Jareth, are you there?" she asked the mirror. "I need you."

A few moments later, a smirking Jareth appeared instead of her reflection. "Good evening, Sarah mine." He took in her bare face, her damp hair, and the way her skin still glowed pink from the heat of the shower with barely concealed longing. Noting her thin dressing gown, he thought with wonder, "She is comfortable enough to call for me in dishabille!"

Sarah suddenly realized under his wolfish gaze that she was both underdressed and that it was rather late. Jareth was also more casually clad than she had seen before, in shirtsleeves, his linen tunic open deep enough on the chest that she could see his strange, horned pendant against his skin. Sarah swallowed deeply and tried not to imagine how warm that skin might be under her fingers. "I'm so sorry - I didn't realize how late it was. Is this a bad time?"

"For you?" Jareth purred silkily. "Never." He looked beyond her then, into the room behind her and asked, "Settling into your new flat?"

Sarah smiled proudly. "I am! That's why I wanted to talk to you, actually. I wanted you to come to a housewarming dinner."

Jareth narrowed his eyes. "Will the traitors be there as well?"

Sarah laughed. "You mean my friends? No. It would just be the two of us."

A slow grin spread across the Goblin King's features. "In that case, yes. I would be delighted."

"Do you like spaghetti? Actually, what do you eat?"

It was Jareth's turn to laugh. "Although I have a distaste for eggplant, which is barely a plant and certainly not an egg, I think you'll find our dining habits are rather similar."

"So spaghetti's fine? I'm a decent cook, but I'm a little strapped for cash right now because of the move, so steak's out of the question."

"Yes, precious. Any form of pasta is fine." Jareth looked thoughtful. "You know, you needn't ever want for anything, Sarah. I could provide for you."

Sarah bit her lip. Friend or no, Fae offers always had strings attached. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're offering - I do, Jareth. But I need to do this on my own."

My stubborn girl, thought Jareth with resignation. "I understand."

"I'm working mostly evenings this week, but have Friday off. Will that work for you?"

"Barring unforeseen complications, Friday will be perfect."

"Okay, then. See you Friday," Sarah said.

"Until then," Jareth said and disappeared, leaving Sarah looking back at her own smiling reflection once more.


	15. Chapter 15

**Jareth, Waiting (Early Summer 1989)**

Their spaghetti dinner was cut short by a runner - another infected runner, it turned out.

The evening began with promise. Jareth arrived to find Sarah in an apron tending to a battered copper pot that threatened to boil over onto the stove. He found himself oddly captivated by this domestic scene, though some part of him was shocked to see his future queen toil like a servant. She hadn't noticed his silent entrance, so he was able to study her countenance without distraction for a moment. From the intense look of concentration on her face, he was unsure whether he was witnessing cuisine or battle. He had to admit that it was no wonder this formidable girl - no, this formidable young woman - had beaten his Labyrinth once upon a time.

His chuckle alerted her to his presence and earned him a bright smile in return.

They chatted casually over their simple dinner, Jareth amazed at how comfortable Sarah seemed to be. The intimacy of the situation was not lost on him; they dined within sight of her sleeping area. He had been invited into her nest, and though his owlish nature was predatory, he had to respect the welcome she made for him. Sarah was, after all, to be his mate - not his prey.

Sarah was asking about dessert when she stiffened mid-sentence. Someone was about to say the words.

"I wish the goblins would come and take you away...right now!"

Jareth looked at her with awe. "Did you hear that, precious?" She should not have heard the summons. How close was she to fully assuming the mantle of queen?

"Of course I heard," Sarah said with a shrug. "Someone wished."

"I'm sorry to leave so abruptly, but duty beckons," Jareth said, impulsively snatching Sarah's hand to place a hasty kiss against her knuckles. "I'll see you soon."

Sarah's mouth dropped open as magic and desire surged through her at the brief contact. "Soon," she echoed hazily as Jareth disappeared in a flourish of glitter.

This time the runner had not made Jareth uneasy as the previously infected ones had. She seemed a normal, if somewhat mousy, teenager - a babysitter frustrated by her charges. She had wished away a set of fraternal twins, two boys about three years old, who were no doubt terrorizing the goblins in Jareth's throne room even as he surveyed the pile of ash the girl had become.

The Adversary was changing tactics, and the magic of the Labyrinth was weakened as it awaited its queen's return. This infected girl had made it within five steps of the entrance gate. Jareth shuddered to think what might have happened had she made it inside - what could have happened to the creatures inside.

"It's gettin' worse, ain't it?" Hoggle said, uneasily approaching his king.

"Indeed it is, Hedwort," Jareth said, shaking his head sadly. "I will do what I can to strengthen the protective magic here at the entrance."

Hoggle didn't even bother to correct Jareth's abuse of his name; he knew how dangerous the situation was. "You're gonna have to bring her back," he whispered, his heart breaking. Hoggle knew that Sarah would be queen, but he still couldn't reconcile himself to the fact that the rat would get precisely what he always wanted.

"As much as it pains me to be without Sarah, I have made a promise to wait. I will buy her some time, Hogsbreath," Jareth answered sadly. "But the Labyrinth needs her almost as much as I do."


	16. Chapter 16

**Breach of Etiquette (August 1989)**

Though they had spoken several times since their abbreviated dinner, Jareth and Sarah had not been able to meet in person since that night. Sarah spent the time adapting to her new routine and life on her own, while Jareth spent the time reinforcing the protective magic of the Labyrinth. However, there had been no more infected runners in the intervening weeks, so Jareth let down his guard for a visit Above.

Jareth transported himself to Sarah's tiny apartment, at precisely the agreed upon time. He stood in the center of the room, looking as regal as ever in the late morning sunlight, despite his understated modern cut linen suit. Sarah smiled her greeting at him from the kitchenette as she finished eating the black plum that had appeared in her fruit bowl overnight.

Jareth sucked in a surprised breath at the sight. No doubt due to the oppressive August heat, Sarah wore a rather revealing floral print cotton sundress with a full skirt that accentuated her curves. Her pink tongue flicked out to capture a stray rivulet of juice as it trailed down her wrist, and Jareth nearly groaned aloud. The tension of his troubles Underground left him overwrought and stressed. He was frustrated, in more than one sense. With that much skin on display, he could not help but think unhelpful thoughts - and to be teased in this manner was beyond the pale. A ripe plum, indeed! Unwitting or no, she is a vixen, he thought.

"Good morning, my king," Sarah said cheerfully as she dropped the plum pit into the trash bin.

"Good morning, Sarah mine," Jareth smirked. He knew the pit had already appeared in the compost pile outside his castle.

Turning to the kitchen sink, Sarah quickly rinsed the remaining plum juice from her sticky hands. "I read the funniest thing the other day. Just a silly fantasy novel, but there was an eerily accurate passage describing goblins - so accurate I wondered if the author had ever really seen them. I wanted to see what you thought about it…" She crossed to the overflowing bookshelves that dominated the interior wall. "Where did I put that thing?"

Now confronted with the long column of Sarah's neck beneath her messy bun, and the soft skin between her shoulder blades that begged to be touched, Jareth prayed to any available stray god that his patience would hold. He picked up and examined a framed photo of Toby on Sarah's dresser to distract himself. "I intended him to be my heir, you know," he said, wistfully.

Sarah, distracted by her search for the novel, answered with a confused, "Hmm?"

"I know you believe that I would have turned Toby into a goblin, but that was never to be his fate."

Sarah, finally realizing the seriousness of the topic, rose to face him. "Thank you for telling me that."

"Would it have changed your behavior, had you known?"

Sarah laughed. "I doubt it."

"Your abominable conduct in the tunnels. I would never have set the cleaners on you if you hadn't been so defiant." Jareth smiled in a particularly wolfish way.

Sarah glared. "I wouldn't have been so defiant if you hadn't been preening so smugly!"

Jareth shook his head in a way that was both rueful and strangely pleased. "What a pair we are."

Sarah chuckled and hummed her agreement, then resumed her bookshelf search. "Why did you want Toby to be your heir?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?" he asked sharply.

Sarah swallowed. She hadn't meant to tread into a touchy subject. "Couldn't you, just, ah...just 'produce' one? An heir?" Sarah kept her back to him, relieved that her voice had not gone squeaky.

"'Produce' an heir, precious?" Jareth asked in a rather more sultry manner than was rightly proper for a king. "I ask again, whatever do you mean?"

Sarah turned to face him again, her embarrassment evident from the flush that confronted him. He's being deliberately obtuse, she thought, just to torment me. "You know, the old-fashioned way? With a...a lady friend?" This time her voice did squeak, just a bit.

"A 'lady friend'?" Jareth's arched eyebrows arched higher on his forehead, and Sarah knew then that he truly was baiting her.

She covered her flaming cheeks with her hands. "Jareth! You know what I mean! Or is folklore wrong on this point? I understand that mating customs among the Fae are very similar to that of humans and that heirs are begotten in the same manner as in our world."

Jareth decided that Sarah had had enough teasing for the moment. "Our 'customs' are perhaps not 'very similar,' precious, but yes, the act from which babes come is undeniably the same. However, you forget one thing."

"What's that?" she asked warily.

"I did not have a 'lady friend' with whom I could produce said heir at the time." Jareth stared pointedly at her, his mismatched pupils gleaming with a mix of emotions she couldn't quite identify.

"Oh," Sarah said, her impressively red face growing even darker. She endured a quiet moment of panic when she realized that he had said: "at the time." Had that changed? She knew so little of Jareth's life. Was it appropriate for her to befriend him if there was a woman in the Nevernever waiting for him? She felt a peculiar pang of jealousy that she promptly buried and ignored.

"As enchanting as a 'lady friend' sounds, my dear Sarah, it would perhaps be more proper to produce an heir with a queen - a wife." Jareth saw that Sarah could not quite meet his eyes. Still not ready, he sighed to himself. He lightened his tone, "But lacking that, if a suitable lad is wished into one's lap, why not take advantage of an heir ready-made?"

"I guess I see what you mean," Sarah said slowly. She decided to change the subject abruptly. "Would you like a cup of tea before we go?"

"I wouldn't say no," Jareth said in as conciliatory a manner as he could manage when all he wanted was to shout about how very vexing she was, then throw her down in front of her blasted overstuffed bookshelves and consummate their vows right there on the floor.

But that would never do. Lenora would never forgive him. Sarah might not forgive him for a century or two, even. He sighed. Sarah is still so innocent, he thought. She probably does not see how she affects me.

"Do you have any biscuits?" he asked as he followed her to the kitchenette, wondering how much longer he would be able to maintain his composure. "Some of my goblins mentioned something called 'ginger snaps' that sounded very intriguing..."

It wasn't until hours later, long after Jareth had returned to his kingdom that Sarah wondered if Jareth had been implying something else. She slipped into her favorite ruffled nightgown and sat on her narrow daybed. That day in the snow, she hadn't called him by name. Why had he come when she carelessly wished? And now he visited regularly. To an outsider, it might even look as though he were courting her. Was he courting her? Surely not.

But sometimes, when he thinks I don't see, he looks at me as though he wants to devour me, Sarah thought. And she couldn't deny that even the memories of his kiss upon her palm or the way his soft lips had grazed her knuckles left her feeling dizzy and shot a lightning bolt of feeling through her core.

No, she decided stubbornly. She had not misunderstood. Jareth must have a special someone in the Underground, and she was just an amusing human he knew - an amiable former-enemy-turned-friend, nothing more.

Or was she?

Sarah pulled her pillow over her face and groaned.

The next morning Sarah walked back from the grocery store, still confused over Jareth. As she put away her purchases, she found herself obsessing over every scrap of conversation they'd had since December, and still couldn't make heads or tails of his behavior. She glanced at the clock and saw that she still had some time before she needed to leave for her shift at the bookstore, so Sarah decided to seek answers from the only person she knew who may have them.

She dialed the beige wall phone, and hesitated after the third ring, wondering if she could justify the long distance charges for an answering machine message, when an abrupt "Hello?" startled her from her worry.

"Eleanor? Do you have a few minutes to talk?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Of course, Sarah. Is everything alright? You sound a little anxious," Lenora said soothingly. She hadn't called with homesickness for some time, though Lenora wondered coldly whether this had more to do with an absence of financial support from Sarah's parents than her actual emotional state.

"I just have some weird questions, is all."

"I'm happy to answer anything that I can, but can I call you back in five minutes?"

Sarah smiled with relief. She had been very stubborn about paying her own way since leaving college, but she was glad that Eleanor always had a ready excuse to "call her back" in order to reduce Sarah's phone bill. "Sure! I'll be here. Thanks, Eleanor!"

A few moments later, the beige wall phone blurted out its annoying ring. "Hi again!" Sarah said.

"Hello to you, too," Eleanor laughed. "Now what's troubling you?"

Sarah twirled the curly phone cord around her finger nervously. Better to jump right in, she supposed. "Do you know anything about the Goblin King? About his personal life, I mean?"

"Empty night, Sarah! What in the world brought this on?" Lenora exclaimed. She silently vowed to throttle Jareth with her own hands.

"It's an etiquette question, I guess?" Sarah continued. "I know in human circles it wouldn't be right to spend a lot of time with an unattached woman if you had a fiancee waiting at home, but are the rules different for the Fae, maybe?"

Lenora huffed in exasperation. "You're going to have to explain this in a little more detail."

"I maybe, sort of, you know, accidentally made a little wish and the Goblin King showed up."

"Who did you wish away this time?" Lenora's voice dripped with uncharacteristic sarcasm.

"Nothing like that, I swear! I learned my lesson about that with Toby. It just sort of slipped out, and I wished...for a friend."

It seemed there was an explanation for Jareth's recent cheerful mood. "You wished for a friend, and the Goblin King showed up?"

"Yeah. And he's sort of my friend now?" Sarah sounded very sheepish, even over the tinny phone line.

"I see. When did this happen, exactly?" Lenora did a quick calculation and figured it had been in January, when Sarah had moved.

"Last Christmas."

Close enough, Lenora thought, yet neither had breathed a word of it to her! Jareth kept silent no doubt because he believed it would break the spirit if not the letter of their agreement, but why would Sarah keep such news to herself? "You've been meeting with the Goblin King for months now?"

"Yeah," Sarah said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Eleanor. It's just that I felt weird enough about it myself, and I was afraid you'd be mad or something."

"I'm not angry, little one. You needn't fear that." There were plenty of other things to fear, though, she added silently - Jareth's impatience and frustration being chief among them!

"I'm glad." Sarah sighed. "He said something strange yesterday, and it made me wonder if he had, well - I feel so silly saying this out loud - if he had someone."

Lenora paused. "Had someone?"

"You know, like a girlfriend? Does the Goblin King have a fiancee waiting for him in the Nevernever?"

Lenora almost gasped with relief. As a Fae, she could not lie, but she didn't want to confuse Sarah further with obfuscation. Besides, Sarah should know better than to phrase such an important question in a closed manner. "In the Nevernever? No."

Sarah smiled. It was rare to get a straightforward answer from her godmother. "Oh, thank goodness! I just didn't want to do anything wrong or create a breach of protocol. I didn't want Jareth to get into trouble."

"Jareth? On a first name basis with a king, then?"

"Oh!" Sarah blushed. "He said it was all right to call him that…"

"Hush, child. I am only teasing. I think you'll find that your Goblin King has a long history of trouble behind him, and no doubt a great swath of trouble yet to come. But in this case, no rules were broken."

"Thanks, Eleanor. I really appreciate it." Sarah glanced at the clock. "I'm sorry to drop this in your lap and run, but I don't want to be late for work…"

"I've had worse shocks," Lenora chuckled. "Talk to you Thursday evening?"

"Okay, talk to you then!"

Once again, it was only later when Sarah was restocking the mystery paperbacks section at work that she realized how poorly she had worded her question. Did that mean Jareth had a fiancee in the Above? No. That couldn't be the case. Eleanor had said that no rules were being broken. So, even if the situation was odd, it couldn't be wrong.

Sarah's shoulders visibly relaxed at the thought, and she began to hum as she tidied the shelves.


	17. Chapter 17

**Unforeseen Consequences (October 1989)**

Sarah was eating her lunch in the break room of the bookstore when her manager approached. "I saw you with a man the other day," Heather said, waggling her eyebrows. "Gorgeous blond gentleman, about yay high? British accent, I think you know the one. So tell me, Sarah Williams, do you have a sugar daddy?"

Sarah spluttered, "What?"

"Well, I definitely didn't get a familial vibe. And you were so wrapped up in, from what I could tell, force-feeding him a pastry…"

"He'd never had a doughnut before," Sarah said sheepishly.

"Yeah, you never even noticed that I was there," Heather teased. "Spill. Who's your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Sarah said dismissively.

Heather snorted. "Are you sure?"

"No," Sarah said softly, drawing out the word. "I don't know."

"How can you not know? You looked very friendly, and though I could see there was an age difference…"

You don't know the half of it, Sarah thought - he's probably hundreds of years older than me.

"...that doesn't mean anything in the real world. Heck, my dad is 13 years older than my mom, and they've been happily married for 33 years. The heart wants what it wants. So spill."

Sarah set down her sandwich. "It's complicated. We have a weird history."

"Okay. And?"

"We met when I was just a kid, and then I didn't see him again until recently…"

Heather laughed. "He came back when you were legal, you mean? That's convenient."

"Hey!"

"Look, at least he's not some Lolita pervert, right?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I just don't think he sees me that way."

Heather shook her head in exasperation. "You should have seen what I saw the other day. Look, I know you're young, and maybe a little naive. And you read way too much Victorian literature, frankly…" She winked. "...but you looked like two people who were - and forgive me for saying it this way - clearly besotted with one another."

It was Sarah's turn to snort. "Besotted. Really."

Heather nodded, suddenly serious. "Really. I wish someone would look at me the way you two look at each other. Not everyone is so lucky."

Sarah bit her lip. "I just don't know what he wants."

"Ask him."

"He's not really the sort who gives straight answers."

"Maybe a curved answer is all you need," Heather grinned. "He's seriously never put the moves on you?"

Sarah shook her head, then looked thoughtful. "He has only ever kissed my hand."

"Old-fashioned, then. A gentleman." Heather nodded, went to the fridge in the corner, and took out a can of Coke. "Has it occurred to you that he's waiting for you to give the green light?"

"I never really thought about that." Sarah picked at the sandwich in front of her.

Heather took a sip from her can, then hiccupped. "Excuse me! Bubbles." She headed for the door. "Hey, Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you want?"

"Him," Sarah said quietly.

"Then tell him." She started to leave the room, then turned back. "Totally off subject, but I'm finishing up next week's schedule. Are you still in for inventory Sunday night? Overtime and pizza dinner on me!" She waggled her eyebrows again.

Sarah laughed. "Definitely!" She paused. "Hey, Heather?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Now...back to the grind!" She gave a little wave and left the break room.

The bookstore always closed early on Sundays, and the annual inventory count was normally scheduled after hours, so a Sunday count meant that the employees wouldn't be up all night.

Inventory turned out to be both festive and boring at the same time, Sarah was alarmed to learn. True to her word, Heather had provided an excellent pizza dinner. She'd also brought an oversized boombox and a crate of cassettes for entertainment. She let the employees take turns choosing the music, which provided quite a varied soundtrack to the evening, as Heather's collection was as diverse as the employees' tastes. The counting process was very orderly and moved faster than Sarah expected. It was meticulous work, but everyone remained cheerful as the evening wore on.

Despite the early start and sufficient staffing, it was still past midnight when they finally counted the last rack of bookmarks. Sarah's eyes were red with fatigue, and she found she couldn't stop yawning despite the soda she'd had.

She was so busy yawning at the chilly bus stop, while silently encouraging the bus to hurry, that Sarah didn't notice the man until he was right next to her. He had a hungry, lean look to him, a sandy mullet, and a pinched face.

"Gonna take your wallet and that ring," he said, gesturing with a knife and leering, "For starters."

Sarah's shock turned instantly to terror, but then just as suddenly morphed into a seething rage. She felt something within her click into place and abruptly unleashed the secret place where she hid her magic. She knew that it must have shown physically, somehow, because the man's leer turned into a horrified gape. "I think not," Sarah purred dangerously. She dropped all pretense of hiding her magic, or of impersonating normal humanity. There was something dark and dangerous at her core, and it had finally come out to play.

"I don't think we need that, do you?" She whispered menacingly. She made a dismissive gesture, and the man's knife flew across the sidewalk and embedded itself hilt-deep into the stone facade of the building behind them.

The man's eyes bulged in terror and a wet stain spread across the front of his trousers. "P-please," he begged.

"Please what?" Sarah said with contempt. "Please have more mercy on you than you would have had on me?" She moved her hand quickly twice through the air, mimicking the motion of a slap, and claw marks appeared on the man's face, dripping blood down both of his cheeks. He struggled against an unseen force that held him immobile.

Sarah sneered. "Perhaps I will have a little mercy," she spat the word as though it burned her lips. "I will let you live this night. But if I ever learn that you have harmed a single living creature I will drop you somewhere so dark and so deep that you will die having forgotten your own name."

The unseen force dropped the man to the ground. Sarah flicked a single finger at him. "Go, before I change my mind."

The man ran gibbering into the night.

Sarah crumpled back onto the bench, terror and fatigue overcoming her once more. She was not sure what she had done or how she had done it, but somehow she knew that her threat had not been an empty one. Soon she found herself safely inside her tiny flat, though when she thought about it later, she was never sure if she had ridden the bus home or magically transported herself there. Sarah shook with the aftereffects of adrenaline and fear, and wondered how she could be the person who did those things, said those words - and meant every one of them. She felt no remorse for what she'd done, which frightened her even more.

She suddenly remembered that day when the Wardens had come to Eleanor's house and she had experienced her first soulgaze. The Warden who had seen Sarah's soul had been shaken to her core. This is what she saw, Sarah thought wildly. I really am a monster after all.

She cried herself to sleep that night, that thought echoing in her head.


	18. Chapter 18

**Realizations (November 1989)**

Sarah was numb for many days after the incident, just carrying herself through the motions of daily life. Heather had noticed her listlessness, but when questioned Sarah only admitted that she'd almost been mugged, but got away. This was true, of course, but the sort of oblique answer that she was accustomed to hearing from Eleanor. She liked Heather, but how could she explain in any way that made sense?

Halloween was usually Sarah's favorite holiday, but it passed with no observance on her part other than waves of sadness. She missed Toby even more keenly than she had before, wondering what costume he had chosen, and who had taken him around the neighborhood in her absence. She hadn't spoken with Karen or her father in months, but she wrote Toby weekly, hoping that someone cared enough to share her simple letters with him. At least they had not been returned. That gave her some small measure of comfort.

The weather turned unseasonably cold and grey, and Sarah listened to the fierce Chicago wind whistling around the old boarding house as she tried and failed to sleep at night. She drank mug after mug of hot tea against the chill and ruminated, turning things over and over in her restless mind.

Something else had changed the night she had so ruthlessly defended herself. The ring her mugger threatened to take was no longer the familiar garnet and gold piece her mother had given her as a child, but an emerald set in silver with a filigree pattern similar to the strange crescent pendant that the Goblin King always wore. Something within her recognized that it had been that way since the day after she'd come back from the Labyrinth, that day she'd gone to the hospital with her mystery illness, but that she hadn't needed to see it clearly until now.

She thought back to her experiences in the Labyrinth. Sarah knew fairy tales well enough but had never really examined her actions in the Underground against the folklore. She had gone to rescue her brother, but she had entered another world of her own free will. True, Jareth had used a cat's paw to place it in her hand, but he had given her fruit which she accepted and ate. Mysterious fruit had appeared for her every day since then, too. She was still not sure whether the incident in the ballroom was a dream - although Jareth had alluded in conversation that he also remembered it - but she had danced with a Fae, heard his song, and now seemingly wore a ring which bore his seal.

By Sarah's reckoning of the old ways, she should never have been able to return to the Above.

Her days of introspection yielded other insights. She had become adept at avoiding the soulgaze very early in her magical training, as it so unnerved the handful of people with whom she had shared it. It had always been a relief to be with Eleanor or Jareth, as they were Fae and could not soulgaze as humans did. But Sarah couldn't remember the last time she'd had to look away to deter the strange pull in another's eyes. She met Heather's eyes easily, and those of co-workers, even customers.

Sarah had developed an allergy to cold iron, and could no longer soulgaze. She had eaten goblin fruit, heard Fae music, and danced with a king whose ring she now wore. She commanded dark and powerful magic that unleashed such fury that she wondered if she was a monster at her core.

In a moment of sudden clarity, Sarah had a sinking realization: She was no longer human.

Lenora sat in Jareth's study once again, looking with sad fondness upon its apparent disorder. Much like its owner, its chaos held deeper patterns. Jareth had become an excellent ruler in his long exile. She had come without warning and was waiting for him to return from dealing with a runner - an uninfected one this time. The wished away child had been a sullen boy of about 8, with ginger hair and a scowl. He was older than most wished away children, and Lenora idly wondered how he would cope with his new circumstances. Perhaps being removed from the environment which made him so bitter would be an improvement for the boy.

Jareth suddenly reappeared. "The one who wished took her dreams without hesitation. The child truly was unwanted, and will be better off here."

"I hope he isn't teaching your goblins how to glower in the meantime," Lenora said with a tight smile.

Jareth shrugged. Even in the warm light from the fireplace, he looked exhausted. "They've seen worse."

"What has happened, Jareth? Even your goblins seem, well, a little less exuberant than usual."

"The thing I most feared has come to pass. One of my goblins returned from Above the other day, infected. He was in the castle for only a matter of seconds before he was reduced to ash like the false runners, but...he was within the castle. Past the protective magic of the Labyrinth." Jareth ran a tired hand through his unruly hair and sighed. "We are out of time, Lenora. Sarah must return."

Lenora nodded with resignation. "How long?"

"Weeks, maybe. I believe I can hold the protective magic until the solstice next month."

"I will see to it. Sarah will be returned to the Underground before then."

Jareth looked pained. "I wanted her to return for love, Lenora, not duty. I gave her as much time as I could."

"I know. But there's nothing more to be done." Lenora paused. "I will go to her."

Lenora tried to invite Sarah to her house for Thanksgiving, but Sarah needed to work both the day before and the day after, and would not be able to travel. She had hoped Sarah could come to Nyack one last time to see her brother, but it could not be helped. When that scheme failed, she practically invited herself to Chicago instead.

"You've never had to spend the holidays alone, little one," Lenora said over the phone. "Let me let you be hostess then."

Sarah reluctantly agreed. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide her recent revelations from her godmother, but she also didn't want to be alone on Thanksgiving.

Though initially unwelcome, the prospect of a visit cheered Sarah. Perhaps Eleanor would be able to reassure her that her conclusions were wrong, after all. She planned a simple menu - a roast chicken instead of a turkey, with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a pumpkin pie made from scratch. For once Sarah was grateful for all of the kitchen work Karen had pushed onto her.

And then Eleanor canceled. Phoning the day before she was set to arrive, she explained that she had been called away. "My queen has called me to Arctis Tor," she explained. "It is a summons no Unseelie can refuse. I cannot apologize enough, little one."

"I understand," Sarah said sadly. She truly did; no one could refuse Queen Mab.

"I will visit soon, though - as soon as my court business is concluded."

Sarah agreed to reschedule. But the thought of spending Thanksgiving alone began to weigh on her. She decided to invite someone else.

"Jareth, are you there?" Sarah asked before the mirror above her dresser. "I have an invitation."

Jareth appeared very quickly, looking rather somber in grey wool. "An invitation, Sarah mine?"

"Thursday is a human feast day - Thanksgiving?"

"I am familiar with the tradition, precious," the Goblin King said drily. "Many children are wished away amidst the family strife so often present on the holiday."

"Ah," Sarah said, a little crestfallen. "If you're busy never mind."

"Do you wish to feast with me, then?"

"Yes," Sarah said a little more shyly than usual. "I do wish to feast with you. I hadn't thought to celebrate Thanksgiving at all this year, but my godmother Eleanor talked me into it. She was supposed to visit, then canceled at the last minute. But," Sarah added hastily, "I don't want you to think you're just filling in. I would much rather spend the time with you, and if I had been thinking clearly I would have just invited you in the first place."

Jareth chuckled. "Lenora can be very persuasive."

Sarah brows knitted together in confusion. "You know my godmother?"

Jareth returned her look of confusion. "Do you not know? She is my cousin."

"I had no idea!"

Jareth shrugged. "Well, she is as apt to play games as any other Fae, so perhaps it is not surprising that she omitted the detail."

"I'll have to let that sink in for a while," Sarah said, shaking her head. "But will you come? On Thursday?"

"I will be there." He bobbed his head forward once in a courtly nod, then disappeared.

Jareth did not arrive to find Sarah in the kitchenette for once. Her tiny table was already laden with the efforts of her cooking.

"It smells divine," he said quietly.

"Thank you," Sarah said. "Shall we?"

Jareth could see that something had changed in Sarah. She was dressed normally, in a blue sweater and a long, dark skirt over boots, but her eyes seemed a little too green, and her dark hair was such a shining rich brown that it nearly edged into ebony. He recognized that the tingle of magic that always surrounded her seemed calmer somehow, more stable. I'm seeing her as she truly is now, he thought with astonishment. She's dropped the glamour that makes her appear human.

Sarah noticed as they ate and chatted that Jareth seemed a little worn. "You look tired, my king."

"And you look sad," he replied with a wan smile.

"I have been sad," Sarah admitted.

"And I have been tired," came Jareth's rejoinder. "I have had a great many cares lately. There is trouble in the Goblin Kingdom."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Why have you been sad?"

Sarah paused for a moment. "Something happened that frightened me. Someone tried to harm me, and I...retaliated. I could have killed a man. I did hurt him."

Jareth's face was a mask of barely controlled rage. "Had I been there, he would have been dead."

"He will be dead if he ever harms another," Sarah said with some conviction. "In fact, I'll allow you the honor if that day comes. But the thing is, as much as that man scared me, I was much more frightened of myself. I didn't know I had such darkness in me."

"No one is without some darkness, Sarah - in some ways it is a necessity," Jareth said, calm once again. "I am only relieved that you are safe."

They ate in silence for a while after that, until Sarah suddenly asked, "How did you come to rule the Goblin Kingdom, anyway? You're not a goblin."

Jareth laughed at the unexpected query. "True enough. I am not a goblin." He explained his exile, and how the goblins had essentially chosen him as their ruler.

"But why were you exiled in the first place?" Seeing the look on Jareth's face, Sarah blanched. "Please forgive me if I've overstepped. I don't mean to offend."

"No, no - it's not that," Jareth said. "You should know my past." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Do you know of the Unseelie Court? Surely Cousin Lenora has mentioned it."

"She has. I know about both Seelie and Unseelie, Summer and Winter."

"Good. Both courts have a knight - a human knight, who serves each Fae queen. It is a necessary thing, but the knight's mantle can be terrible. Depending on the human chosen for the position, the knight can be a skilled warrior or a violent thug. Long ago, Mab set her sights on a human wizard for the position. He was both a talented magician and a seasoned soldier, but he had a debt to another Fae. It is often that way - humans are manipulated into bargains with consequences that are only apparent to those of us from the Nevernever. And so it was with this wizard, who had bargained under duress. But he had a flaw that Mab refused to see. He was at heart too gentle - too loving - for the mantle of knight. It would have destroyed him long before her plans played out. So I acquired his debt before Mab could, and I released him from it at a very mild price, thereby removing him from Mab's influence."

"You defied the queen," Sarah whispered in awe.

"I did," Jareth said ruefully, "And I have paid for it for centuries."

"Some would call your actions brave."

"Foolish would be more accurate." Jareth shook his head. "Any other burning questions, Sarah mine?"

Sarah laughed. "I can't believe I've never asked this before, but why do you always wear gloves?"

Jareth laughed in turn. "I can't believe you've held out this long, either. I receive more than just simple tactile information when I touch things. The gloves help to mitigate the sensation and prevent sensory overload. I assume, given your magical proclivities, that you will end up wearing them as well in time."

"That...makes sense, actually."

Jareth studied her face as she thought through all they had discussed. She was in many ways still the flighty girl who had charmed him by reciting plays in the park, and the temperamental brat who had bested his Labyrinth, but she had also grown into a strong and beautiful woman. Her magic shone brightly as always, tempered by the changes she had undergone assuming the mantle the Labyrinth had given her. He desired her, of course - her feminine curves practically tormented him at times - but he also loved her with a surety that had only grown as he'd gotten to spend time with her over the past year. He was unsure of the depth of her feeling in return, though he knew she held some affection for him. He regretted that he had not been bolder in his wooing, but hoped that he had love enough for the both of them.

Ready or not, you will be at my side soon enough, he thought sadly.

They finished their meal speaking of less weighty subjects, then Sarah rose to take the dishes from the table. Before she could take any, Jareth snapped his fingers. All of the dishes found themselves clean and put away, the leftovers tidily arranged in the little refrigerator.

Sarah laughed out loud. "That almost seems like cheating! Then again, if I'd only been able to do that all those years with Karen, I might have been less awful as a teenager."

Jareth gazed warmly at the girl who ate the peach and forgot everything. He wanted to crush her in his arms, declare his love, tell her that she would save his kingdom - that she would save him. But he simply said, "I will take my leave now."

Sarah's face turned serious again. "Jareth?"

"Yes, Sarah mine?"

She bit her lip. There was so much she wanted to say. Her heart ached with revelations, but she was still too frightened to share them. Instead, she crossed around the table, rose on her tiptoes and placed an innocent kiss on her king's cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jareth experienced hope as he never had before. He caught her as she turned away, wrapping one arm around her waist. "Precious, I…"

But the moment was shattered when someone wished.

"Thanksgiving," Jareth growled, reluctantly releasing the girl. He ran a gloved thumb along her jaw, and stated, "We will resume this conversation later."

Sarah mutely nodded as Jareth disappeared to his duty. Perhaps she was not alone in this after all.


	19. Chapter 19

**The Queen Arrives (December 1989)**

Sarah returned from work on Saturday, December 2nd, to find that she'd gotten a letter. She immediately recognized the heavy cream stationery and the elegant, stylized writing as belonging to Eleanor.

Along with her godmother's signature, inside it simply read: "Expect a visitor on December 3rd."

Sarah was not unaccustomed to such terse communications from Eleanor and assumed that she was coming as promised to make up for her canceled Thanksgiving visit. It's lucky I have tomorrow off! Sarah thought. At the rate things are going, it will likely be the only weekend day I have off before Christmas.

Heather had warned her that even bookstores were much, much busier during the holiday season, but Sarah hadn't believed it until the previous week. She came home each day aching and exhausted - doubly so, as the effort needed to restrain her magic had become more difficult again. She hadn't had a chance to contact Jareth since their conversation had been cut short on Thanksgiving. She hadn't even seen any goblins, which was very unusual.

Although she had gone to bed early, Sarah found she couldn't sleep. She was unaccountably anxious as she tossed and turned. Something was not right, but she didn't know what it could be, and though her thoughts churned around it endlessly, she was no closer to understanding when she finally fell asleep in the wee hours.

Sarah awoke early and found her anxiety had only grown worse. She felt almost dizzy with nervous tension but forced herself into her normal morning routine. She made and ate oatmeal along with the peach that had appeared in her fruit bowl as she slept. It had been plump and perfectly ripe, and tasted almost of summer sunshine to her December palate. She showered and dressed in her favorite blue shirtdress with her warmest tights and black suede boots.

The day was colder than usual and overcast. Soft, fat snowflakes fell intermittently to add a new layer to the drifts already piled along the edges of the old boardinghouse. Sarah shivered as she peeked out into the yard; she was unsure whether it was from cold or fear.

She cleared away the breakfast dishes and cleaned the kitchen. She paid her telephone and electric bills, grimacing as always at the balance in her checkbook. She wrote her weekly letter to Toby, which she then stamped and added to the pile of outgoing mail on her entry table. She made her bed and tidied the room until everything was in its correct spot.

There was nothing left to do but wait as fear gnawed at her stomach.

She decided to try to distract herself with reading, and pulled out a paperback of Precious Bane by Mary Webb, which Heather had recommended to her after seeing an adaptation of it on TV in October. She had barely turned to the first page to wonder what a "love-spinning" was when she heard a knock on her door.

Sarah did not find Eleanor in her entryway, but a stranger - a very tall woman, beautiful beyond belief. She wore an ordinary suit, though it seemed to be made of a fabric similar to silk, as its color changed as she moved, from purple to green to blue. Her waist-length white hair - not blonde, but white like snow - shimmered down her back in a cascade. She had green eyes with pupils like a cat and her lips - the color of summer berries under ice - sported a strange, frightening grin. There was no mistaking who she was, though Sarah had never seen her before in her life. She was standing in the presence of royalty.

"Queen Mab," Sarah gasped as she fell into a curtsey.

Mab slid her cool eyes over the young woman's tense countenance. "Sarah Williams."

"Your majesty, you are welcome here - but why have you chosen to honor me with a visit?" Sarah could scarcely believe she had the ability to form coherent sentences in the company of Mab, but was both frightened and pleased that she could.

"I have come to set some things right." Mab moved past Sarah into the small apartment.

"I apologize, your highness, but I have no idea what that has to do with me," Sarah said, shocked by her own boldness.

"Do you not?" Mab asked skeptically.

Sarah shook her head. "I truly don't, your highness."

Mab gestured to the table. "Let us sit and discuss, then."

Sarah swallowed at the lump in her throat and sat across from the Queen of Air and Darkness. At least she now had some idea why she had been so anxious all day.

Mab began without preamble. "There is an ancient tale in your world of a young girl kidnapped by a dark god, and held in the underworld. Do you know of this?"

Sarah nodded. "Do you mean the myth of Persephone?"

"Yes," Mab's voice was calm but still unnerving. "How is the tale told in your world?"

Sarah's brow furrowed in thought. "It's been a long time since I've read it, but Hades was enchanted by Persephone and took her to the Underworld. Accepting food of the Underworld meant she would have to stay forever, but she began to starve, so she ate six pomegranate seeds in secret. Although she was returned to her mother Ceres, it was decided - by Zeus, I think - that eating the seeds meant she could only stay with her half the year and the other half with Hades. During that time, Ceres would allow nothing on Earth to grow, and that's why we have autumn and winter now."

"Yes," Mab nodded. "That is the most popular version in the mortal world. Though, like all myths, what began true has altered greatly over time. This tale began in the Nevernever, and it wasn't so much a myth, but a prophecy."

Dark foreboding gripped Sarah. "A prophecy?"

"Oh, yes. You see, it wasn't a god who encountered the girl, but a king."

Sarah found she could not speak.

"And it wasn't to create the seasons Above," Mab hissed, "It was to restore balance Below."

"Most of the details in the human myth are wrong. For instance, it wasn't a pomegranate the girl was to eat," Mab smiled, her pointed teeth glinting. "It was a peach."

Sarah licked her dry lips and shook her head. "No," she whispered. "This can't be."

Mab continued, "It was said that the maiden would be returned to her world, briefly, as she was too young to be queen. But powerful magic had settled on the girl, magic tied to the king and his land. The absence of this magic allowed the land to fall into imbalance and great danger, so the girl would have no choice but to return to her true home, and her husband."

Sarah's every instinct told her to flee, but she was frozen in terror. "Husband?"

"You are Fae-marked, bound, and claimed. Surely you are not completely ignorant of your position or of the mantle which settles itself upon you even now. You wear the Goblin King's ring and have done for years. You have been groomed and trained - Lady Lenora of the Unseelie Court has shown you great deference and great care. Oh, she thought she played a merry game, with her queen unwitting. But the most satisfying cat's paws are the ones who think their actions solely their own."

"Eleanor...Lenora planned all of this?" Sarah could not mask her betrayal.

"Of course. She intended you for Jareth from nearly the moment you were born, and even I could not have chosen a better match." Mab smiled again, chilling Sarah to the bone. "And you. You have agreed every step of the way. Never a nay-word from your mouth spilled! You ate the peach. You made a wish. You long for him even now. And though you may have been unaware of the bargain you struck as a child, a bargain you made. You have been betrothed to Jareth for years, and he grows impatient for his bride."

"But I…" Sarah stammered. "I don't understand, I…"

"Do not attempt to lie to me, child," Mab interrupted with a snarl. "I am the Queen of Dreams, and I know what your heart holds - dark though its secrets may be. There is no other for you. What's said is said, and you must do what you must do. Balance must be restored."

"But I don't know if he loves me," Sarah whispered.

"What has love to do with fulfilling a bargain?" Mab blinked in disbelief. "There is desire enough between the two of you, I'm sure, though it changes nothing. You and your magic are needed Underground, so Underground you will go. Do you think I did not balk when presented with my duty, child? I was born mortal, just as you were. Though we are neither of us that any longer, and I will not have your petty concerns upset a strategy centuries in the making."

Mab rose to leave, regarding the terrified young woman icily. "Sarah Williams, your time Above has finished."

Just before she reached the door, she turned back to face Sarah and said the words that sealed her fate.

 _"I wish the Goblin King would come and take his bride, right now."_


	20. Chapter 20

**Sarah and Jareth, Underground (December 1989)**

Sarah had fainted, Mab's words still echoing in her head.

When she came to, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar, though supremely comfortable, bed. Her head was nestled into a pillow that smelled strongly of Jareth. Her terrible anxiety had fled but had been replaced with an altogether different sort of nervousness. She scanned the dark stone chamber and was surprised to see some of her own possessions scattered around the room, including the photo of Toby from her dresser.

Sarah saw that the Goblin King was sitting in a chair in front of a crackling fireplace. He gazed at the flames and had not yet noticed that she was awake.

She flung back the covers and made her way over to him, wincing at how cold the stone floor was with only her tights between it and her feet. She sat opposite her king in a chair twin to his own and looked at him expectantly.

Jareth looked up with an apprehensive look on his face. "There was only one chair here for a very, very long time. Then, about a week before you wished Toby away, another chair appeared beside it. There was no rhyme or reason to it, as far as I could see, but the Labyrinth knew. She knew you were coming to me."

"It's a comfortable chair," Sarah said with a small smile.

Jareth smiled back faintly. "You did very well today. Fainting is one of the best responses to being in Mab's presence for any amount of time."

"She is...very unnerving." Sarah paused. "So, you're my husband?" It wasn't really a question.

Jareth pressed his wide mouth into a tight line. "I will be, yes."

Sarah looked a little confused. "But you're not yet?"

"Not yet, no."

"When is the ceremony?"

Jareth looked a little confused in turn. "What?"

"Well, we have to get married, right? I was led to believe that it wasn't optional," Sarah said neutrally.

"It isn't."

"Don't we need to take vows?" Sarah threw her hands out in bewilderment.

Jareth finally understood. "That ceremony is human. Our vows were said long ago, when we struck our bargain. Admittedly, I may not have used my right words, but I offered you my heart, and you in return declared yourself my equal. Those were vows enough."

"Then you sent Lenora with your ring." Realization dawned for Sarah. "It really was that simple."

"It was." Jareth looked at her thoughtfully. Though he had been hopeful when they last met, she seemed to be handling things in a rather businesslike manner. He wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.

"But there isn't some final rite? Some sort of public observance?"

"Not public, no."

Jareth seemed self-conscious to Sarah, almost bashful. He seemed to be dancing around something he didn't quite know how to disclose. She sighed. "Look, if we're to be married, we have to be honest with each other – even if that's not the usual Fae way of doing things. I know you're not the sort to state things directly, and to be honest I'm not really sure if I am anymore, either. But let's try. Jareth, how exactly do we complete our marriage vows?"

Sarah wasn't sure, but she thought she could detect the faintest blush on his pale cheeks. He looked pointedly at the bed behind them, then back at Sarah, who found herself blushing in return. "Ah," she said eloquently. "That."

"I never meant for it to come to this," Jareth said sadly.

"You don't want me?" Sarah blurted.

Jareth was stunned. "Of course I want you! I have no stronger desire in this world than to have you at my side and in my bed. You have tormented me, woman! I can't even count the number of times I have barely restrained myself in your presence. But I wanted you to come to me with love in your heart, not just resignation."

Sarah shook her head. "But Jareth, I do love you - more than I can say. I just didn't know what you felt for me, not really."

Jareth leaned forward and took Sarah's hand in his own. She suddenly noticed that he was not wearing gloves, and gasped at the sensation. Their magic collided and co-mingled, strengthening as it flowed between them. She felt something that went beyond love and lust - something elemental and unbridled, something that yearned for completion.

"Sarah," Jareth breathed, her name almost a prayer. "I have loved you since I first saw you."

Sarah smiled softly and rose without relinquishing her king's hand. "The contract must be bound, then. Let's finish it."

Jareth did not think he could be more astonished. "Precious?"

Sarah pulled him to his feet. "But first, my king - a kiss?" she asked shyly.

"My love," Jareth whispered. "As many as you'd like, forever."

He leaned down to her and finally captured the lips that had vexed him for so long with his own, and Sarah did her best not to swoon twice in one day.

Later, after the bargain was complete and the mantle had settled fully on Sarah, she and Jareth felt the protective magic of the Goblin Kingdom restore itself and strengthen. The Labyrinth herself practically hummed with contentment as her rulers looked out over the twisting maze from the balcony of the royal chambers. They were bundled in wool and velvet against the unusual cold. Even the strangely colored sky had taken on a darker cast.

"The kingdom is safe once again," Jareth said. "And I am happier than I have ever been."

"Me, too," Sarah said. "There's just one thing…"

"Regrets so soon, Sarah mine?" he laughed impishly.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "No, of course not. It's just...I don't want Toby to grow up as I did. He's such a special little boy, and he deserves so much more than a disapproving mother and an absent father. I want Toby here, with us."

A sly smile crossed the Goblin King's face. "I was hoping you'd say that. It will be done. Consider it a bridal gift, precious, from me to you."

Sarah leaned up to kiss her king again, wondering at the intensity of feeling that washed over her as she did. "Thank you. I could not be happier, my love."

She felt a feather-light snowflake land on her cheek, and when she opened her eyes, the sky was filled with them. "It's snowing," she said.

Jareth was buffeted with shock once again. "It is," he breathed in wonder. "It truly is snowing."

Sarah looked at him in confusion. "Yes, it's winter. Sometimes that brings snow."

Jareth smiled. "You don't understand. It has never snowed here, not within memory. It was one of the things I missed most in exile - winter. We never had winter here, until you came."

Sarah could hear a joyful commotion coming from the castle grounds and the nearby Goblin City. The goblins were certainly enjoying the change.

"I did this?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"You did." Jareth kissed the top of her head and turned his face up to watch the snow fall. "And I for one am very grateful."


	21. Chapter 21

**Sarah and Jareth, Much Later (2014) - Epilogue**

"Let me guess. And then you lived happily ever after?" Harry Dresden smirked.

"That is how fairy tales generally end," the Goblin Queen said warmly.

"Well," the Goblin King said, "If you ignore the fact that we received a letter from Mab the next day telling us to cut our honeymoon short as we were expected at Arctis Tor before the solstice."

"Ouch," Dresden said.

"I also seem to recall a nine-month period shortly thereafter during which you were quite waspish with me," Jareth continued with a mischievous grin.

Sarah's eyes narrowed, and her countenance took on a dangerous look, Murphy was startled to note. "I seem to recall being assured that that wasn't a possibility, that Fae had their children with humans, and that I was no longer human, tra la la."

Jareth held out his hands in supplication. "I have assured you a thousand times, my love, that I was as astonished as you."

Sarah snorted in a manner rather unbefitting a queen. "Right."

"You did ask if he wanted an heir 'the old-fashioned way,' though - right?" Dresden couldn't help but interject.

"Not helping, Dresden," Murphy stated flatly as the Goblin Queen's expression turned positively feral.

"What?" Harry asked as innocently as he could manage. "I'm just saying."

Sarah turned her vivid green eyes to the Winter Knight, a threat evident in the glance. Dresden swallowed thickly. He did have a bad habit of antagonizing dangerous beings.

"Our daughter Arianna is a lovely young woman, Sir Knight," Jareth said, hoping to diffuse the tension. "She is currently at university in your world, or she would be here to meet you. I believe the new Winter Lady has told her a great deal about you."

Harry's expression softened and became pensive. "Molly. I should have been there for her. I had no idea how the mantle would work on her. I hope she never felt as alone as you did, your highness." Harry nodded to the queen and hoped she understood the apology in his tone.

"I hope not, too," Sarah replied coolly. "But that is not something I can answer in her stead."

Murphy looked distant. This turn in conversation brought to mind several uncomfortable things that she had pondered since Dresden had assumed the mantle of Winter Knight and his apprentice Molly had unexpectedly become the Winter Lady.

Sarah looked at the varying expressions on her guests' faces and had a flash of insight. "The mantle will not destroy her, Sir Knight - or you. Molly is not Maeve. It was the Adversary who destroyed her, not Winter. You already had darkness within you, as I did. We could not be creatures of Winter without it. You have seen the Outer Gates. You know what is at stake for Mab, and for all of us. We need this darkness to preserve the light."

Harry shook his head sadly. "I just wanted Molly to be safe."

"Safe? Or protected by you?" the Goblin Queen asked pointedly.

The Winter Knight remained silent. Murphy was surprised his well of witty rejoinders had seemingly run dry.

"The Winter Lady's path was probably inevitable. You have known her since she was a girl, and unknowingly or not, you propelled her right along that path. I made my own bargain as a child. Perhaps Molly did as well. Stop tormenting yourself with guilt. What's done is done." Sarah shrugged.

Murphy broke the uncomfortable silence with the one question no one had yet thought to ask. "Did any of you ever figure out why Mab wanted all of you together today?"

"Thank you, Karrin Murphy," Jareth smiled. "The formidable warrior sets us back on course. I confess that I still have no idea what Mab's aim is - although her stratagems are generally beyond me."

A shrewd smile spread slowly across Sarah's face. "I think we've become so accustomed to our queen's machinations that we've overlooked the most obvious thing, my love. What if this truly is a simple diplomatic matter? Not a negotiation, but a simple fact-finding mission."

Jareth smiled roguishly. "And we've just willingly given up the story of our greatest secret and our most valuable asset."

"Indeed we have, just as we were meant to," Sarah said triumphantly.

"Huh?" Dresden asked.

"The Adversary cannot touch us here, Sir Knight," Jareth said. "The Goblin Kingdom is a true safe haven from that contagion. Mab manipulated everything over centuries to create a secret stronghold which her enemies could not even enter. We welcome outcasts of every sort, but none are infected. We are safe here. Well, we have darkness aplenty - but no evil of that kind."

Harry Dresden's long, lean face brightened. "A safe haven - a real safe haven."

"Almost no one knows - Mab, the Lady Lenora, a handful of others - and now you two," Sarah said. "There are so few trustworthy humans, but I think our secret is safe with you. And I believe this is necessary information for you, Sir Knight."

A number of discordant facts had already clicked into place in Harry's head. "I think so too, your highness. Thank you."

The squat dwarf who had shown the visitors in suddenly popped back into the room. "Sorry to interrupt your majesties, but Sir Tobias just sent word that he would be arriving from the Eastern Territories this evening."

"Excellent - thank you, Higley," Jareth smirked.

"It's Hoggle, and you know it, you rat!" the little man groused.

"Yes," Jareth said with an indulgent smile as the dwarf exited.

"So Toby did come to live in the Underground?" Murphy asked. She had been curious how that had turned out.

"Oh, yes," Sarah said proudly. "He took to it like a natural. He was kicking goblins almost as well as Jareth by the time he was seven."

"He came to live with us almost immediately, even before Arianna was born. So then we had - what is that crude human phrase? 'An heir and a spare'?"

"That's the one," Murphy said with a chuckle.

"Your race is so fond of rhymes. Yes. You know, unlike Sarah, he genuinely was a changeling," Jareth said. "I mean, in the traditional sense. He was half Fae, but he had been switched at birth, at the hospital. He wasn't Robert and Karen's child at all."

"I always had wondered how they had such a fair son. I mean, I knew Karen's hair color came straight from a bottle," Sarah insinuated snidely, "But I'd figured she was just cheating on dad."

"Tut-tut, my love," Jareth said. "That is unkind."

"Well, I did wonder. And you know how unkind she was to me!"

"Perhaps if she had been less unkind we would not have met, Sarah mine."

"Perhaps not," Sarah acquiesced.

There was a comfortable lull in the conversation until Harry broke it by saying, "Well, if our diplomatic mystery is solved, maybe we'd better get out of your hair."

"You are always welcome in the Goblin Kingdom, Sir Knight - as are you, Miss Murphy," Sarah said. She rose, followed by first her king and then her guests. "Truly, you may visit at any time."

"Thanks," Dresden said. "Is it wrong to shake your hand?"

Sarah laughed. "Of course not." She held out her gloved hand and received Harry's firm but careful grip. She looked at him in surprise. "Your dreams...are complicated."

"To say the least," he grinned.

The queen held out her hand to a reluctant Murphy. Karrin pursed her lips and gave the proffered hand a businesslike pump. "Your dreams are sweeter, Miss Murphy. Don't discount them. Every warrior longs for the warmth of home."

Murphy blushed, a sight Harry rarely saw. "Thank you for an interesting afternoon, your highness."

"It was a pleasure meeting you both," Jareth said.

"Thank you for trusting us with your story," Harry said.

Jareth simply nodded and sent them on their way.

Dresden and Murphy came back through the same Way in the Chicago alley they had used to leave.

"That was quite a tale," Murphy said as she tried to gauge how much time had passed while they were away. Time always ran differently in the Nevernever, but the 26 hour day of the Underground complicated things further.

"It really was," Harry agreed. "But I believe it. The Fae can't lie, you know."

Murphy snorted. "But they don't have to tell the whole truth, either. You know that."

"I think they probably left out just enough to keep it interesting," Harry said with a thoughtful smile. "But all that tea put me in the mood for a steak sandwich and some excellent ale. McAnally's? On me, Murph."

"Sounds good," she said. "Lead the way…"

 **~FIN~**

 _Notes and Acknowledgements:_

 _Thank you so much for reading my first fanfic! I wrote this a few years ago and only posted here because someone dared me to do it. I figure it was worthwhile if only one other person enjoys my story. I hope that person was you!_

 _"Goblin Frost" was the first novella I ever wrote. I had only written short stories and poetry before, but fan fiction allowed me to play with concepts and characters in a way that unleashed my creativity and helped me to relax about the end product and to just...tell the story._

 _Although I reiterate that I have no ownership of the characters in this work or the original works from which they came, I would like to acknowledge all of the creators of the source material: Jim Henson, Terry Jones, and the inimitable Jim Butcher. The characters of Sarah and Jareth would also be mere shadows if it weren't for the enduring performances of Jennifer Connelly and the late - and greatly missed - David Bowie. (I think I may have made Jareth a little too "nice" in my story, but blame that on my terrible love for Bowie himself.)_

 _I would also like to thank every single one of the goblins, and the Jim Henson's Creature Shop artists who created them._

 _I can neither confirm nor deny that I wrote this entire novella merely for the scene in which Queen Mab makes her appearance, but there may have been rumors to that effect. ;)_

 _Please forgive any errors you may have seen - particularly any formatting errors, as I didn't realize until halfway through posting that both my section dividers and all use of italics disappeared when I posted. Live and learn, I guess!_

 _Sincerely, though - thank you for reading._


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